The Crucible
by Tipofan4life
Summary: By definition, a crucible is situation of severe trial in which different elements interact leading to the creation of something new. And that is exactly what is going to happen here with our heroes - especially Po and Tigress. They will be tested. With a new enemy approaching after the defeat of Kai, the fires have just begun to burn. (Set after kfp3)
1. The Reconstruction

**Hey guys here's a new story for you all! This story me and my good friend on FFN put our heads together and came up with this. Now I'm not going to be revealing any spoilers like I have the habit of doing, but I will tell you basic info. This starts of in the Valley of Peace and is set after KFP3! Currently, I won't reveal anything more - so let's get right into it!**

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It had been six and a half months since the defeat of Kai, and everything was slowly returning to normal. The Jade Palace was rebuilt at last - every detail restored how it was before Kai had rendered it a pile of rubble. No one had ever destroyed the Jade Palace before, not since Oogway had built it over nine-hundred years ago. Seeing the grand structure restored to its former glory was so surreal; it caused Po to remember something some six and a half months back.

 _Po, Shifu, and the Five were standing a ways off from the palace ruins, watching some construction builders from the Valley rebuild the Jade Palace. Shifu had found the palace's original blueprints left by Oogway in some scrolls he and Po scavenged among the rubble._

 _"I'm sorry, Shifu." Po whispered quietly as he stood next to the short red panda._

 _Shifu turned to his side where the panda stood and raised a brow, "For what, Dragon Warrior?" he replied curiously._

 _"I'm sorry that I let this happen." the panda sighed. "If I would have been here, the palace wouldn't have been destroyed and your chi's wouldn't have been taken. What kind of Dragon Warrior am I?"_

 _"Po..." the elderly red panda began after pausing to collect his thoughts. "What happened here was not your fault. It was better for you to not be here - that way Kai wouldn't be able to take your chi." he stated reassuringly, but the look of guilt and sorrow on the panda's face remained unchanged._

 _The Five then walked closer and Monkey interrupted, "Buddy, You're the best Dragon Warrior China has ever seen! All of us would be dead if it wasn't for you."_

 _The rest nodded in agreement as they stepped closer, gathering around their friend. Just then, Tigress too then spoke up, "I, for one am happy and proud that you are our Dragon Warrior, Po. There is no one like you in this world, and I can't even describe the fear and heartache we've felt at the times that we've almost lost you..." Tigress said kindly with a warm smile which turned into a sad, painful expression at the last part. "Almost loosing you was... too much to bear; the world just wouldn't be the same without you... and none of us would, either." Tigress said gently with a warm smile placing a single paw on the panda's shoulder. A smile tugged at Po's lips and he nodded towards the elegant feline with the same smile._

 _Shifu then continued, "Don't beat yourself up about it, Dragon Warrior, none of us blame you for what you did." Shifu said kindly with a smile. "But there is a saying,_ _'What's past is history, tomorrow is uncertain, but today is new.' One must dwell on the new, and not in the old that we so frequently entangle ourselves up in, Dragon Warrior." Shifu finished his saying with a smile at the panda, who's own expression brightened, now feeling better than before._ _Po was reminded of similar advice Oogway gave him at the sacred peach tree shortly before the wise master ascended to the spirit realm._

 _"Thanks, you guys - I'll try not to." he replied more elated than before, and the others - especially Tigress - smiled, happy to have comforted the panda._

It was now past noon, and Po had finished teaching for the day. He had improved his ability to teach greatly and the Five and Shifu were impressed by how well he had excelled in such a short about of time. Now that training was over, Po decided it was time to relax and what better way to do that than to spend some time with his best friend, Tigress. The panda absolutely loved to spend time with the tiger, and truth be told, Tigress quite enjoyed hanging around and bonding with Po; she was especially impressed by his rapid advancement in both shill and wisdom, and begun to admire the panda for his accomplishments. The two had gotten close over the past year, and she welcomed the panda's presence and enthusiastic nature. Usually, they would play checkers or other things while they talked, but this time Tigress had a different game in mind.

After Po finished reading his current study from the ten thousand scrolls, he made his way to the Hall of Heroes to wait for Tigress. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that the striped feline was already there, waiting for him. She wore her new elegant yellow hanfu attire, and was in a meditative posture in front of the moon pool.

"Oh, hey Ti!" he said in his usual enthusiastic manner, and then quickly went quiet seeing that she was mediating. "Oh sorry! I see you're busy you uh... want me to come back later?" he asked sheepishly.

A smile formed on the tiger's face and she opened her ambered eyes and chuckled, "No, it's perfectly fine, Po - stay." she said gently and broke her meditative posture, standing up.

Po smiled and did as she asked, and then the tiger turned around to face him. "Ready to have some fun, Ti?"

Tigress nodded, "Sure, Po. But I would like to play something... a little different." she replied and in her paw she lifted up a different kind of checkered board and a sack of game pieces.

Po noticed this wasn't the usual checker board they played on and his curiosity began to gush forth, "Ooooooh! What's that?" he asked pointing to what the feline was holding in her paws.

"This is a new game I had in mind." she replied. "It's called chess - a game that requires both attentiveness and strategy." Tigress said with a smirk while saying the last part causing Po to snicker. The two then sat down in the middle of the floor and Tigress put her feet together, placing the game board between them and setting up the pieces.

Po also crossed his legs, sitting down at the opposite end if the board. "Well, I think we _both_ already know who's going to win this; neither strategy nor ...um - what's the word? - attentiveness! are my strong points." Po said in a jolly tone with a smirk.

"Especially the latter." Tigress said sarcastically and chuckled. The panda then playfully stuck his tongue out at the feline and she, copying him, did the same.

Po gave her a pretend pouting look folding his burly arms, "You know it's true, Ti." Tigress stated in a matter of fact tone while putting the last few pieces in place on both sides of the game board and laying the sack by her feet. "I also happen to have quite a few people who will agree with me - your dad and master Shifu for example..." She said nonchalantly and slowly cut herself off as she noticed him gazing towards Master Rhino's armor in awe.

Tigress just smiled at the panda and shook her head. _"See what I mean, Po?"_ she thought. Then Po broke out of his trance-like state. "So anyway..." Po said while shifting himself into a more comfortable position and continued, "How do we play, Ti?" Tigress then sighed and began to tell him the rules, the object of the game, what each piece does, and the importance of careful thinking with each move. Tigress also told him that if he moved too quickly, he could lose the game much sooner.

About twenty minutes later in the game, things were advancing well, and Po was learning quickly, but Tigress was the one winning, taking most of Po's pieces. A smug smile lay on Tigress's face as she moved her bishop diagonally across from Po's King. "Check." she said with a snicker.

Po groaned, "Again? You've checked me like seven times in the past three minutes... how are you so good at this game?" he asked the striped feline, raising a brow.

The tiger didn't reply but a hint of pride could be seen in her triumphant gaze from Po's compliment, which were always unique and rather... heart warming to say the least.

Po sighed and decided to move his King up again, when he suddenly noticed something and thought excitedly, _"Ohhhh! I can take her bishop."_

The panda immediately moved his piece to the same square as the attacker piece and gave Tigress a big, goofy grin. Although she wanted to frown, it was nearly impossible given how happy he was and how big he was grinning to finally take one of her pieces. It was rather... adorable, even.

"Well played, Dragon Warrior," she said, smiling softly before reaching forward to remove her piece.

Po then gave the feline a smile of his own in return and began, "I-I believe it is your turn, Master Tigress." he said, feigning a foreign goofy accent.

Tigress chuckled, and moved a piece she had thought about for some time, deciding that now was the best time to make her move. The two then continued for a few more minutes, talking, laughing and having a good time together, and Tigress won at the end - to Po's dismay. The two agreed to play one more game before dinner, and soon the pieces were set back up again ready to begin a new interesting game. Tigress was indeed having fun for the first time since Kai - as was Po - and the tiger was enjoying times like this with him. It filled her with a sense of happiness and joy that she thought she didn't deserve. Po's friendship was unlike any other and his kindness knew no end.

After playing another game, with Tigress the winner once again, Po then got up to make dinner, congratulating Tigress happily on her wins and the two promised to play again another time. The two shared a friendly fist-bump before Po ran off into the kitchen to begin to prepare dinner. The tiger smiled warmly at the panda as she watched him run off and she then picked up the pieces and got up.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Po was busy as usual preparing his famous noodle soup and tofu dumplings - which were Tigress' favorite - for everyone. Flour was all over his paws and his apron, and he was kneading the dough for the tofu evenly. After rolling it out, he began to cut out the basic shapes for the dumplings and he gathered the ingredients needed: the tofu, basil and a pinch of rice. Po had always been a skilled cook thanks to his dad, and the Five loved it and deeply appreciated the great meals since he'd come to the Jade Palace. Tigress especially found that she couldn't resist his cooking, even though she was a picky eater. After Po placed the now wrapped dumplings into the oven fire to cook he then continued to make his soup.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of amber eyes were watching his every move - for said owner of eyes had followed the scent of food cooking to the kitchen. The glowing orbs then disappeared into her room, in the barracks, to do some basic meditation and relaxing. About seventeen minutes later, all the food was done and Po called the Five to dinner and everyone was greeted by the mouth watering scent of hot, delicious food as they entered the kitchen.

Everyone sat down and after gratefully thanking Po for the food, they dug in and ate happily in a peaceful manner. Mantis and Monkey swapped jokes and occasionally Po would join in but not very often as the panda remained silent for most of the time, lost in his thoughts of his tasks. The new responsibilities that came along with teaching had altered his childlike temperament as of late. Tigress thought this was strange, for he was usually a good conversation starter, but now he was silent. She planned on asking him about this later but for, now she focused on her dinner.

After everyone finally finished dinner, and Viper had told an especially interesting story from her time as a ribbon-dancer, the Five said their good-nights to each other and made their way over to the barracks to sleep. Tigress, however, decided to stay and chat with the panda as she usually did. The tiger sat behind him in her yellow hanfu and watched him do the dishes as he hummed to himself. Po was a thorough cleaner, and he always made sure every dish was washed clean before putting it in the strainer to dry.

While he did the dishes, Tigress thanked him for the food that she obviously enjoyed and Po smiled proudly that she loved his cooking. Tigress then decided to get the the point and ask what was on her mind from earlier.

Po smiled hearing that she was genuinely concerned for him and he sighed, "Well... ya know, hehe." he chuckled. "Just teaching and different things I need to do, including helping out my dad at the noodle shop this weekend." he replied putting the last dish in it's place. He then began to wash his paws.

Tigress nodded with an understanding smile, "Oh. That must be a lot to handle ya think? Perhaps... I can help... if you need an extra paw?" Tigress offered kindly and Po nodded as he dried his paws.

"Thanks, Ti! I appreciate that, but right now I need to get some sleep." he replied with a tired yawn to which Tigress chuckled. "So see you tomorrow ok, buddy?"

Tigress nodded and the two then left for their rooms in the barracks. As soon as Po entered his room and crashed in his bed, the tired panda fell asleep almost immediately; Tigress, hearing his snores, then decided to go to sleep also. The tiger climbed into her bed and pulled the covers over her shoulders and soon drifted off to sleep.

The next day, as morning approached, while it was yet dark, a fairly large army of wolves wearing matching white masks with a red peacock symbol on them, gathered above the Valley of Peace overlooking the village from a mountain. The army held torches and spears either hand and seemed to be waiting for an order. A figure in a dark cloak walked through the midst of them, his face unrecognizable, his red eyes glowing from the darkness of the hood. The figure then stood in front of them and growled as his scaly tail hit the ground angrily.

As their leader, all eyes were on him. The figure then spoke up and pulled a double-edged sickle sword from his cloak, "Do not forget why we are here; I want the masters _alive,_ understood!?" he commanded authoritatively.

"Yes, Master!" the army shouted in unison, and they lowered their spears straight out to an on-guard position.

"Good..." the figure said coldly. "And burn their precious village to the ground - kill anyone who gets in your way." he added with a growl clutching the sword tighter.

"Yes, Master!" the wolf army shouted once more, getting in a ready position facing the valley; their howls began to echo between the distant mountains.

The figure grinned evilly and chuckled before motioning them to advance towards the village. The Five, Po, and Shifu truly had no idea what was about to begin.

 **Welp, there's the end of Chapter 1! Hope y'all liked it. Yeah I know I made a bit of a cliffhanger but everything will make sense later hehe. Who is this new foe and what do they want? Keep reading to find out! This story is still developing and has a long way to go, but I do appreciate feedback that's not hateful in nature. But anyway, there's more to come so favorite and follow to keep up with what happens next.**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	2. Enter the Inferno

**Hey guys here's the next chapter! Thanks for the feedback on the first one and the follows! It means a lot! Anyway, I hope you cats like this chapter and that it's interesting enough for ya ;) This will be the start of the 'Crucible,' if you will, and I won't reveal all that goes down; but I will say that the cult leader villain will be revealed sometime in a future chapter. Species and everything and no, he's not a crocodile! So, without further ado, let's Bruce Lee flying kick right into it!**

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It was almost daybreak and the wolves were advancing in towards the valley. Their leader commanded a handful of wolves to come in with him, the rest lying in wait atop the mountain, only a select few coming with their master. As they made their way stealthily towards the entrance of the valley, he unsheathed his second sword, now wielding two matched sickle blades.

"There is a reason why I picked only a few of you at first." the figure in the dark hooded cloak began. His red eyes glowed a blood red from the darkness of the hood. "I have carefully studied the Furious Five over the years, and have learned that they are quite difficult to beat." he said almost with a growl. "They can take on many at once but how many... I'm not sure. So this is a test; we'll call the rest once we need them." he said as the wolves nodded.

"Understood, Master!" they said subserviently, ready in an instant to give their lives without question.

The hooded figure then motioned for the wolves to pour into the valley and begin their work of fiery destruction. With their torches, they began to set fire to the various stores and homes in the village - it was chaos. Using their spears, they began to terrorize the villagers, shedding blood and killing the ones that tried to fight back or weren't fast enough to run away. Mr. Ping hid some of the villagers in his shop to escape the attack, barricading the entryway with tables and anything else they could find. As the carnage continued, some wolves with heavy hammers knocked out the supports of a nearby building, and it crumbled to the ground, crushing all the villagers in the vicinity.

Up at the Jade Palace, Shifu broke from his early morning meditation to see that the village was under attack. Pillars of black smoke could be seen, and horrible screams could be heard even from the mountaintop where the red panda watched all of this in horror. The aged master quickly broke from his trance and ran to the barracks to wake up the five and Po.

After rushing into the barracks and waking up the Five, who hearing of such a disaster arose with lightning speed, Shifu made his way to the Hall of Heroes to collect Master Oogway's staff, which he'd learned to use in battle. Tigress realized that one of the masters was missing, and dashed over to Po's room to wake the heavy sleeping panda up. However, when she opened his door and saw the panda curled up on his bed hugging his pillow, it almost made her regret having to interrupt his pleasant dreams with a real-life nightmare - but they had more urgent important matters at hand. She went over to him and, placing her paws on his shoulders, gently but firmly began to shake him awake.

"Po..." she said with a hint of urgency in her voice. "Po! Wake up!" she shouted a bit more firmly.

"Ahh!" the panda groaned, jumping awake from his slumber. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" he said somewhat sleepily. "Who's there? What's going on?" he asked as he turned around to see a pair of golden fiery amber eyes in his room.

"It's just me." Tigress started gently, before her facial expression quickly became serious. "There's trouble in the village - it's under attack: there's fire and people being attacked and slaughtered in the streets."

A look of horror came over Po's face. "What!? We have to stop this right now!" he said seriously, still horrified that someone had killed some of the villagers he was sworn to protect. "Who did this?"

"We don't know yet, but we're going to find out right now and stop them." Tigress said firmly and Po quickly jumped up, not wanting to waste a single second more.

"Alright - let's go! Those cowards better get a head-start on running away, 'cause it is on!" he said, balling his fist and running out of the room, Tigress following closely behind.

The now-awakened masters ran and met Shifu at the top of the steps leading to the village below.

"I'm coming with you. The fate of the valley depends on us today." Shifu said, grasping Oogway's staff firmly in his paw.

"Yes, Master Shifu!" they said, bowing before they quickly began making their way down the thousand steps; with Mantis perched atop his hat, Crane kept a tight flightpath above the rest as Tigress, Monkey, and Shifu leapt along the outer edges of the stairway, leaving Po and Viper to rush down the center steps.

Everyone took note of the flames and smoke in the valley below as they ran, and it was an unforgettable, horrifying sight. As the valley came into view, Po and the Five noticed the ones who were attacking the village looked familiar. While the seven were still-half way down the mountain, deciding to speed things up and not waste any more time, they jumped off the steps, falling through the air towards the wolves to make their surprise entrance. Once they landed the Five, Po and Shifu immediately got to work and began to fight and take down the wolves.

Tigress quickly found one wolf with a spear extended, heading straight for a villager who was running in sheer terror. The tiger, thinking fast, jumped in front of the wolf stopping him in his tracks. She then broke the spear in half with her ironwood-conditioned paws and it fell at his feet; the wolf was surprised and smirked under his mask. He then went to charge the tiger by throwing a wild punch swinging it towards her head. As if by complete reflex, Tigress effortlessly blocked it with one paw, and snapped his arm in half with the other - before he had time to yelp in pain, she then roundhouse kicked him on the side of the head, knocking him out cold. Another, seeing his partner was down, then charged the tiger but to no avail. She perfectly timed their approach and executed a spinning tornado kick sending the wolf flying into another that was heading in their direction, knocking them both out.

Meanwhile, Mantis and Crane worked on a small pack of wolves together. Mantis kicked the ends of the spears off and sent the ends flying up where Crane swooped in and caught the tips in his talons; Mantis finished the wolves off, paralyzing them stiff by hitting their various pressure points with lightning speed. Crane then followed through, sending the spear tips down accurately knocking the weapons and torches out of the wolves' paws from above.

The leader watched from behind a nearby wall. "So it's true. They really do work better as a team. At this rate, we will need the others quicker than I first thought." the cloaked figure said to himself while his scaly tail hit the ground a few times.

Meanwhile, Po knocked out one wolf with a belly butt, and after quickly kicking the spear from another's hands, he sent him flying into a wall. "Take that, weird mask-wearing dudes!" he shouted excitedly - but his triumph was interrupted, however, as a wolf hit him over the head with a bamboo pole.

"Oww!"

When Po turned around to face the one who'd done this, he saw some wolves with rope and acupressure cuffs coming towards him.

Po knocked out the wolf holding the pole with a snap punch before turning to face the wolves with the cuffs.

"Ohhh! The eight-point acupressure cuffs! Haven't seen some of those since…" he gushed fanboyishly, momentarily forgetting about the task at hand.

"Po, focus!" Monkey shouted as he took out two wolves with a double back fist.

"Oh, right! Got it!" he said, now getting more serious and deflected the cuffs and the rope and followed through with roundhouse kicks to their heads.

Shifu had six wolves on their knees after paralyzing their legs with Oogway's staff end. He planned to question them as soon as one of the Five or Po got whoever the leader of this army was.

Po was about to run after a few more of the wolves, who were obviously in some sort of cult, when he was stopped by a sharp double-edged sword as he came around a corner. Po stopped dead in his tracks and froze as the sword almost cut his throat. The panda saw the cloaked figure holding the sword had eyes that glowed red from inside the hood, and Po jumped back a bit, frightened.

"Who are you?" the panda questioned, and the figure pulled out his other sword from his cloak.

"Your worst nightmare – as you will soon find out, panda." he said in a rough, dark voice.

Po at this point was very creeped out. He couldn't make out his face from the darkness of the hood and his voice alone sent cold chills down his spine. The figure then began to slowly approach Po with his swords towards him and the panda nervously began to walk backwards.

"W-what d-do you want?" Po stuttered out and the figure rose the blade to Po's throat, and he shrieked.

"I want the masters! You especially, panda!" he growled in a low tone. "Now come quietly or else there will be more bloodshed." he demanded.

As Po was backing up, he was entering a street where some of the Five and Shifu were fighting wolves.

"G-guys! I-I found their leader!" he shouted nervously, still a bit frightened. This, however, drove the cloaked figure to anger and he slashed his right and left swords, and Po just barely dodged them.

Just then, Tigress heard him, and after knocking out two more cult wolves with a perfect split kick, she quickly ran over to where the panda was calling from. Shifu and Monkey did the same, coming to his aid after a few seconds.

"What is it, Po?" Tigress asked, examining the figure but not quite making out his facial features.

"Yep! And he's no pushover either." Po added, raising his paws as he touched the tip of the blade at his throat. "Apparently, he wants all of us for something."

Just then something started to make sense in Tigress' mind. "Oh, so all of this is just you trying to get our attention, correct?" Tigress questioned, folding her arms and the figure nodded silently. The surreal surrounding scene of murder and pillaging made this revelation and subsequent admission by the figure somewhat unusual.

"Well, no one is going anywhere with you! You've killed our people and you won't get away with it." Tigress stated as her and the others got in their stances.

The figure then growled angrily and scraped his swords together, creating a spark before he got into his own stance.

Po was the first to charge, throwing lightning speed punches and kicks to which his opponent dodged effortlessly, deflecting all of them. Po was surprised he was this good, and the figure began to slash at him with his dual swords. Po tried to dodge the razor-sharp blades as best he could, but he sustained a few small slashes on his white belly and left cheek. Po winced a bit and then Tigress quickly came to his aid.

The tiger threw ferociously fast punches that the cloaked figure could barely even dodge but he dodged them, nevertheless. The feline did land a solid kick in his chest sending him flying back a ways, but he quickly picked himself up and charged back at her. Po and Tigress at this point met him at the same time, punching and kicking in sync; and still, the figure seemed to be doing an excellent job and blocking most of their attacks.

While Po and Tigress fought in the front, Shifu and Monkey decided to take him from behind as the rest of the Five covered them. Monkey's attack was blocked but he followed through with a snap punch to the back of the figures head. Shifu then kicked him directly in the back and with his staff, he struck the back of his head causing him to groan as he fell to the ground. The cloaked menace was now on his knees next to the other wolves who Shifu had put there to question.

The figure in the hooded cloak growled. "That was a grave mistake." he said with a dark, sinister tone.

Po and the Five gathered by Shifu in front of the leader and the rest of the wolves who were on their knees. The panda looked around to make sure everyone was okay and that there were no more wolves running in the village. At this point, it was almost sunrise but still a little dark in the valley.

"Po... are you ok?" Tigress asked, concerned, seeing the now bleeding gashes on his chest and left cheek. "You're bleeding."

Po nodded with a small smile catching his breath, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's not that bad..."

"You sure?" Tigress added after seeing some blood begin to trickle down his cheek, turning the white fur red.

"I'll be fine... I promise." Po stated gently wiping the blood he felt on his face. Tigress nodded softly but mentally took note to keep an eye on him.

Viper slithered up over some rubble and addressed the rest of the masters. "Seems like this was all of them – the village has gone quiet."

Po then quickly turned back to the leader and gave him a glare. "Give it up. It's over, hood guy!" he said excitedly as some of his fear was starting to dissipate.

The figure in the black hooded cloak cocked his head to one side. "Over? You have no idea... what's about to begin." he stated in a tone that sent cold chills up Po's and everyone's spines.

He then turned to a wolf to his right and giving him a sharp nod. The wolf smirked and threw back his head and let out a piercing, sharp howl and the other wolves that were on the ground and those with him did the same. Po and the Five including Shifu were confused and didn't know what this meant. Then it dawned on Tigress what it was: a signal!

The tiger immediately began to knock out several wolves with sharp powerful crescent kicks, "Shut up!" she shouted - but it was no use.

The leader chuckled evilly, "It's already too late..."

Tigress's eyes widened in realization as everything started to make sense. It was a set up! "No..." she whispered faintly.

Just then, a feint tremor could be felt from the ground by all of them. After a few seconds, the shaking grew in intensity.

Po furrowed his eyebrows and looked into the distance towards the entrance of the Valley of Peace. "Earthquake?" he asked openly.

The cloaked figure just shook his head with an evil grin under his hood. Then the Five, Po, and Shifu began to see what looked like more wolves running towards them. A few dozen at first then the number doubled, tripled, growing steadily larger as they approached. Everyone's eyes began to widen as they saw an army of approximately five hundred strong, come their way.

The figure in the black hooded cloak then rose up dusting himself off along with the others next to him. "Did you really think you could defeat me that easily, panda?" he scoffed. "I want the masters - all of you! And I will not be denied!" he said in an ominous tone as the masters then turned to him with looks mixed with horror and anger.

The figure and a few of his wolves who regained consciousness then ran over towards the incoming army. The cloaked figure decided to watch the upcoming melee from on top of a nearby roof. Po shook his head a little, trying to process what was about to go down. Just then, Tigress came to his side and the others behind him in their stances.

The tiger placed a firm paw on his shoulder to snap him out of it. "You ready, Po?" she asked, and the panda nodded with a nervous sigh.

"Just a little nervous. Never fought an entire army before." he said, turning his head towards the feline.

"Well, there was that time in Gongmen…" the bird master quipped from where he stood on their left flank.

"That was different, Crane." the panda shot back.

Ignoring their banter, Tigress kept talking to Po. "Do you remember our game of chess from the other day?" the panda then nodded in response with a faint smile. "Good. Then we'll use that to help us in this fight, ok?"

Po smiled with a nod. "Ok - let's do this!"

Tigress and Po got in their stances in front of the four and Shifu. Po however chose the inner peace stance hoping that would do some good. In what seemed like no time at all, the army charged them all at once from all sides, clashing with the masters. The force of the collision was heavy, but they stood their ground and fought with precision and lightning speed. Shifu handled a dozen or so at once, hitting various paralyzing pressure points, immobilizing every wolf he hit. The masters were outnumbered greatly, but they refused to back down.

Mantis used his size and speed to his advantage, quickly leaping from wolf to wolf, severing spears completely in half and knocking out countless others. Crane had the advantage from the air to not only remove their weapons but also take out several using his powerful wings. Viper whipped and tripped many of them over while Monkey used his wits and speedy punches to take down about a dozen.

Po and Tigress fought together in perfect sync and coordination; they nodded at each other and connected paws for their signature move. The panda started by throwing the tiger over his shoulder at a large pack of wolves in front of him and she would corkscrew kick them to the ground powerfully before landing on her feet to do the same with Po. After throwing and swinging each other back and forth for some time, they'd defeated over fifty wolves, but the duo were still horribly outnumbered and nearing exhaustion.

As the army grew denser around them with many wolves and others charging them, many of the Five were beginning to become fatigued. Their strength and endurance were fading fast after taking out so many at once and not stopping even for a second. The massive numbers of enemies began to slowly but surely take out some of the Five and capture them. Mantis was the first to fall - as fast as he was, the insect could only take so much. As they carried him away, Crane was eventually taken out of the sky followed by Monkey soon after.

Shifu noticed his students beginning to fall, and as many as he and the rest defeated, their efforts seemed to be in vain - their numbers were just too much.

"Furious Five, retreat!" Shifu ordered as a blue and yellow chi aura hummed around him. "Back up the stairs!" The ones that remained listened to their grandmaster and began to make their way to the thousand steps.

The wolves kept coming however; Po fought hard to save his friends as did the rest, but it seemed to be no use. Viper was the next to fall. She struck down as many as she could, but her defeat left only Po, Tigress, and Shifu still standing. These three continued the battle some distance up the stairs.

Po, Tigress, and Shifu were all tired, beaten, and bruised, but they kept fighting. Tigress, as intelligent as she was, then had an idea as she was getting more flashbacks from her and Po's game of chess.

"Po! Let's create blockade on the stairs; only so many can come at once this way!" she shouted clearly so her voice could be heard over the sounds of combat.

The winded and bruised panda nodded, "Ok! Just like chess, right?"

"Of course! A 'v' shaped formation should create a funnel preventing them from coming all at once!" she stated and Po and Shifu nodded and agreed to this idea and got into the formation.

This idea seemed to work very well as the wolves where now having difficulty taking out the remaining masters from high up on the steps. The masters were still very skilled even though they were tired, and they defeated even more attackers than before, and the wolves began to get frustrated, getting stuck in a perfectly constructed bottleneck formation. Soon, the masters had now backed all the way up to the top of the stairs, and had the advantage of fighting from level and higher ground.

The cloaked figure watched from a distance in frustration, and now he realized it was time to send in his special elite bodyguards.

 _"You won't defeat these so easily hahaha! Oh, no. Five should suffice to finish you off in your tired state!"_ he thought evilly then signaled his elites.

As they approached the masters through the much narrower formation, some of the wolves began to have second thoughts, and started to run the other way in fear. The three remaining masters began to relax at this apparent victory, but this relief soon turned to despair. Through the ranks of fleeing wolves, five or so figures could be seen coming up from the opposite direction. They moved with unnatural smoothness, and wore dark grey and black robes with a black silk wrapping around their waists; under slim black hoods their faces were obscured by silver animal masks - the middle one, apparently their captain, had tall curved horns protruding off of his mask. These elites were taller than the hunchbacked wolves all around them, and as they made their way through the crowd, they cut down every wolf that had run smoothly and effortlessly in complete silence. The shiny longsabers that had been sheathed on their backs cut through the air without making any noise as they snuffed out the pathetic lives of the wolves. These soulless, dark assassins obviously didn't view cowardice very highly, and would even kill their own to dispose of it.

The masters, when they saw this, horror and a twinge of fear began to grip their hearts at once; a fight with these warriors didn't look like an easy win. The remaining wolves departed, allowing the elites to move in, and they killed the others that ran or got in their way. The five darkened figures came up to the top of the stairs, and the masters and assassins faced each other down on flat ground. The wind played with the drapery of the long, dark-grey robes, and it was impossible to tell the species that lay beneath them. After a short standoff, the horned one nodded subtly to the others and the two sides collided in an epic duel; the martial artists used their flexibility and vertical movements to dodge the precise jabs and cuts of the silvered sabers. The masters fought with all they had left, but their efforts seemed to be in vain. The elites were skilled at blocking and countered nearly their every move. Tigress had the better of one of them on the far flank, but the leader who was dueling Shifu saw this, and launched a throwing star at the tiger, forcing her to back off. It wasn't long before Tigress and Po came together to fight side by side, but their enemies were on the verge of separating them. They swiftly dodged their every attack and with a three-sixty spin, they countered, landing kicks and slashes. However, these elites were beginning to get bored of the fight and decided to end things. Backing away, they twirled their blades and sheathed them on their back once more, and the red panda knew this was a bad sign.

Shifu turned to Po and Tigress, who were losing strength fast. "Po, Tigress - get out of here! There's too many!" he ordered, as the chi aura was long gone from the elderly red panda.

Just then, the elites drew tranquilizer sleep darts from their belts and began to throw them with precision at the masters, violently flicking their wrists as the projectiles shot outward. Tigress blocked three before one hit her in the side of the neck, it only having made contact due to her extreme exhaustion.

"Tigress!" Po shouted in horror as the feline then collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up.

The effects were already taking place, as much as she tried to fight it. The cloaked assassins began to close in around them.

"P-Po... just... go. You... can... escape." Tigress said drowsily, fighting the effects, but it was no use.

A look of worry and fear came over the panda's face. "No! I can't leave you... I won't!" he insisted, his tone becoming caring and desperate.

The tiger fell to the ground again and Po caught her. "Just go... save... yourself..." she slurred, and then at last succumbed to the sleep dart. Po fought back so many emotions as he held the passed-out tiger in his arms, feeling his heart sink. Grief, anger, fear… and hints of sadness.

Then Shifu spoke up, "Po, leave now!" he ordered as he was taking on all five elites at once with Oogway's staff, and the panda rose up with a blank hopeless expression in his face. As the warriors cornered him and Shifu, the tired red panda began to slowly walk toward them.

"What about you, Shifu?" Po said quietly as Shifu revealed that he too had been hit with a dart on the arm.

"Run! Just go right now and save yourself!" he said, fighting the effects of the dart, but just like Tigress, he too collapsed and slowly began to give in.

Po was about to come to his side but Shifu ordered him with his paw to leave, and he struggled but then obeyed; he began to make a run for it as the elites surrounded him to complete their victory. While he ran, one of the bodyguards threw several sleep darts at him, but he dodged them just in time. He had no idea where to go, so thinking fast, he then ran to the cliffside of the Jade Mountain and made the instantaneous and foolish decision to jump. Before he made it to the edge, two darts from the elites hit the back of his neck. The elites went to grab him, but it was too late - he had already jumped. While falling through the air, all he could think about was the look on Tigress's face just before she passed out in his arms. It was haunting. Soon the effects started to take place and Po too passed out before hitting a few boulders and rocks on the way down. The panda landed on his back on a piece of flat ground at the bottom of the cliff, out cold. The elites went over to the edge where he had fallen to look for him, but he was nowhere in sight – having fallen into the darkness below.

* * *

 **And that's the end of Chapter 2! Woohooo finally got it done and I hope you guys liked it! This took a while, but anyway - what's going to happen to the Five? Did Po survive? Find out in the next chapter. The scene of Tigress getting taken down by sleep darts from the elites was inspired by an early draft KFP3 sequence by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Originally, she was going to get poisoned this way, and Po would have to take her to the panda village to heal her… that would have made for a much cooler way to find the village than what ended up happening in the movie! And I know I haven't revealed who the hood guy is, but I will soon, I promise! No spoilers about him except a recap that he is connected to Shen. His plan and how he obtained this army will be revealed as well! Stay tuned and follow and favorite or even review if you like it so far. More to come!**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	3. Ashes

**Hey cool cats - ya dig it so far? Here's Chapter 3! A lot is going down, but all will be revealed in due time; this is the start of our heroes' crucible. Now I have many references in here so far to tv shows (specifically on the CW) and movies, if you caught them let me know! This chapter is the aftermath of the destruction that took place before and Po has fallen down Jade Mountain. So, let's get right back into it!**

At the bottom of Jade Mountain in a small forest, the panda laid wounded and out cold as the morning sunlight began to hit his face. Po's face twitched, and he slowly began to open his eyes, waking up with a groan. He winced, feeling the pain of his injuries from the day before coming back to him. The panda had bloody scrapes on his head, back, and sides from the fall, along with the other slashes and cuts he received from the battle. Haunting memories from the day before came rushing back as well, and he knew he had to force himself up. He did so, but with difficulty, as his body was wrecked with various pains. Po knew he had to go back to the village to see if anyone was still alive and to find out what became of his friends.

While struggling to get up to his feet, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and felt around with his paws until he found two sleep darts still embedded into his neck. He then pulled them out and threw the bloodied darts to the ground, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth in pain.

 _"The fall certainly left a mark."_ he thought, inspecting his wounds before once more remembering what he needed to do. " _Ah! Gotta find everybody! Where's Tigress and the others? Where's my dad? Is anyone still alive?"_

Po then ran – or limped, rather – as fast as he could out of the forest, making his way into the valley. Negative thoughts of all kinds began to fill his mind as he worried about his friends. Most of all the person closest to him: his dad. But he couldn't help but think of Tigress, too. That look on her face before he jumped was still burned into his mind, and this plus the thoughts that his dad may have been killed in the battle worried him sick. Soon he finally made his way into the valley and ran to the edge and stopped in his tracks.

He was horrified by what he saw: many buildings were destroyed or burnt to the ground, and among the ashes several bodies of villagers lay dead from either the fire or the battle. It was a horrifying sight. Tears threatened to come to his eyes, and hints of anger started to consume him. The valley was in ruins, and the people he'd sworn to protect now laid dead in the streets. He then ran through the streets and over the rubble towards the noodle shop. When he arrived, he saw the shop was barricaded, and he couldn't quite see inside.

"Dad! You ok... you in there?" he called out softly, the smoke hanging in the air nearly choking him, but he heard no answer.

Po fought back tears, fearing the worst, but then he heard a small pan clatter. The panda pulled the barricade down as quickly as he could and jumped inside, looking around for any signs of the old goose.

Just then, Mr. Ping and the surviving villagers looked around the corner from the kitchen area. Once they saw it was only Po, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shhh! They'll hear you..." Mr. Ping whispered.

"Dad!" the panda exclaimed happily, and ran up to the goose, hugging him tightly.

The panda set his father down, and the goose led him into the kitchen. "How did you end up here, son? And what happened to you? You're all banged up." the goose whispered.

"I wanted to see if you were alive. And yeah, that kinda happens when you fight an entire army and fall down Jade Mountain." he stated, rubbing the back of his head.

Mr. Ping gasped. "You fell down a mountain!?"

Po nodded, and then got right to his own question. "Dad? Have you seen the Five and Shifu by chance, or know where they may have been taken to?" the panda asked with worry in his voice.

The goose thought for a second, and then he remembered. "Ah, yes actually… I saw some unsavory figures in dark hoods drag Master Tigress unconscious through the street not too long ago."

The panda brightened up a little bit in relief, knowing that at least she must be nearby. "Ok good! Now which way did they take her? Please, I really need to know!" he said desperately, as he hopped from foot to foot, eager to run in any direction.

The goose smiled a little seeing this, and pointed to the right of his shop with his wing. "I'm certain they took her that way. But be careful - there are wolves everywhere still occupying the valley!" he warned, and Po nodded as he was now running towards the exit of the shop.

"Ok - thanks dad! See you later!" he called out, and before the goose could wave back, the panda had already run out of the shop.

Po ran down the street his dad had pointed him to, and as soon as he approached a corner, he saw a wolf standing guard. He quickly and silently knocked the wolf out with an elbow horizontally to the head, and then drug him away into a nearby ruined house.

Po then tip-toed down the alleyway, following the freshly stirred up dirt on the street. By the time he was approaching the end, he heard wolves laughing and someone grunting. Po wondered what this could be about, and looked around the corner; he saw a small pack of wolves, two of which were holding a female tiger who was too weak to fight back by the arms. One wolf with particularly thick fur was laughing while throwing merciless punches at her face and stomach, trying to beat her into submission. Po was furious seeing them do this to her, and a fiery rage began to burn in his eyes.

Not wasting another second, Po ran out from behind the corner; just before the wolf landed another blow to the tiger's striped face, Po ran at him from the side and threw a hard strike to the right side of his head. Po had hit him with tremendous force, and the impact of the punch sent him flying to the ground some ten feet back. He was so angry, he didn't even use any of his catch phrases.

"Po..." the tiger whispered faintly through her blurry vision.

To see Po alive, and the fact that he'd come for her raised her spirits, for most of the fight had been taken out of her since the previous day. Blood trickled from her lips and she smiled weakly - happy to see him, before collapsing to the ground due to the other wolves releasing their hold of her to go fight Po.

Po growled, and just as he was about to go finish off the wolf who was hurting Tigress, a yet-unseen wolf charged him from behind; sensing him, the panda spun around with a hook-kick directly to the head, knocking him out cold with a definite concussion. The two that had been holding the tiger came at him next, and Po threw a hard right punch at one and a precise crescent kick at the other, dropping them both. Just then, a wolf latched onto the panda from behind, but it was to no avail, as he elbowed him in the solar plexus and threw up a backfist, knocking this wolf out also. One more tried to take the panda down, but his plan failed. Po grabbed the wolf by the throat before he could reach him, and he slammed his head against a brick wall, knocking him out with a concussion also.

Po sighed, releasing some of his rage, and then made his way over to the first wolf he hit who was trying to crawl away, holding the side of his head. Po stopped him and turned him over on his back, and began throwing hard right and left punches at the wolfs face.

"You're not gonna hurt her anymore..." Po said breathing heavily trying to catch his breath. "Or do what you did to her _ever_ again!" the canine grunted and groaned as Po continued to punch him as hard as he could - knocking a few of the wolf's teeth out.

At this point, Tigress managed to get up from the dirt, and she was touched the panda cared for her this way – but she understood that they needed information.

"Po!" Tigress spoke out weakly trying to get his attention. The panda froze and turned his head to where she was kneeling nearby. "He's had enough – try to find out where the leader is and where they may have taken everyone." The tiger held her paw to her stomach where she had been repeatedly hit.

Po nodded, and punched the wolves face one more time for good measure. "Where's your leader? Where's our friends, you jerk!?"

The wolf laughed weakly and gave him a bloody smile. "I'll never tell – and besides, _they_ won't let you get away with this..."

Po raised a brow in confusion. "Who's _they?"_ The wolf was silent, and Po shouted in his face. "Answer me!"

All of a sudden, three of the hooded elite bodyguards in black robes and silver masks came in from different directions to the street corner, surrounding them.

"Oh... _them_." Po whispered, and Tigress came to his side after mustering all the spare strength she could in her weakened state.

The wolf laughed again before leaning his head back, passing out on the ground; the rest of the hunched canines cleared out of the area.

"Tigress, are you ok?" Po asked warily as the elites started to walk towards them slowly.

Tigress got in her tiger stance and smiled faintly. "Yeah, a little sore but... I think I can manage."

 _"So strong. So hardcore. I can always count on you, Tigress. You're so amazing."_ Po thought to himself with a smile, seeing her toughing it out like she always did.

"Ok that's good to hear - so how do we take these guys down? They gave us trouble before." Po asked as the three approached even closer, unsheathing their blades with disorienting whirls.

"Follow my lead. We attack as one and take them down together." she whispered under her breath, and Po nodded silently.

The masked figures started by launching a few of the sleep darts in the direction of the masters; but Po and Tigress were ready this time, as the panda quickly dodged side to side, avoiding them, and the tiger did several impressive backflips to evade the tranquilizing needles. The three elites then charged them with a ferocious display of slashes and acrobatic attacks. Po and Tigress did their best to block and counter them, but the hardened bodyguards moved with an unnatural smoothness, defending and countering with a speed that outmatched even their own. Po would block one punch and they would come right around with a strike of their own or a kick to his exposed side. Tigress, in her weakened state, wasn't having any better advantage either. She would block quite a few swings and kicks, or even knock one back with a double palm strike; but they would always come back with more speed and sharper techniques. These weren't easy foes to beat like regular bandits, and Po and Tigress found that trying to execute their usual techniques was much more difficult when having to avoid the wide reach of the silver sabers.

But just when things were beginning to look hopeless, Tigress spotted an opening, which she exploited with deadly efficiency. When the closest elite to her overextended with a stabbing attack, she grabbed and twisted his wrist – causing his blade to fall from his paw. She reacted instantly, side-kicking the falling weapon with unbelievable velocity; the flying sword impaled another elite that was approaching Po, killing him immediately. Still having the elite by the wrist, she kicked him back a short distance to re-engage in the fight. Watching this move closely, Po tried to imitate it when the other dark warrior came to strike him, but he was unable to twist the weapon from the soldier's grip. Instead, he just headbutted the elite – which, due to the silver mask – probably did more damage to himself. Nonetheless, he succeeded in dazing the elite just enough to make him drop his weapon.

Now fighting one less attacker and having disarmed them, Po thought the fight might be nearly over, but he was wrong. The two remaining elites then drew their secondary weapons, paired black-steel shortsabers, deciding to end things quickly and prevent the masters from resisting being taken to their leader. The elites swung and slashed with these small blades in tight patterns and it became difficult for Po and Tigress to dodge them for very long. Po managed to block one of their slashes by stopping his arm and disarming the blade, but when he did, the elite did a complete spin and a horizontal slash across Po's right arm, cutting him deeply. The panda yelped in pain and, catching the elite off guard, he front-kicked him into the nearest wall – knocking him down, dazed. Blood gushed from the wound and began to run down his arm.

"Po!" Tigress yelled, seeing the panda's injury.

Po tried to show he was fine, but held his limp, bleeding arm with his other paw. As his elite was still somewhat incapacitated, he rushed over to try and help Tigress with her opponent. Feeling the pressure of being outnumbered, the remaining bodyguard fought with even more ferocity. Tigress had by now grown very fatigued, and when she attacked next, the hooded fighter made her pay dearly for striking a second too late; with a rapid burst of strikes, he slashed her first across the thigh, then the stomach, and finally cutting her in the shoulder blade as she ducked away. As tough as the hardy tiger was, she couldn't hide the impact of the deep wounds, and buckled under the flood of pain. Seeing this, Po felt a rush of enraged adrenaline come over him, and charged right into the elite and sent him falling to the ground. The panda threw a bone-crushing punch at his fallen enemy, but the dark-robed fiend rolled away to the side before he could make contact. Surprisingly, Tigress had already recovered somewhat, and – finding herself behind her enemy – put every ounce of strength she had left into a double-palm strike. The hit sent her opponent only a short distance away, but it was clear by the way the elite twitched awkwardly that she had just done a lot of damage to him. The assassin leaned over, and blood dripped from the slits of his metallic mask.

"Give up now – you know you can't win." Tigress threatened between long panting breaths.

The fight now seemed to slow to a halt as the standing elite was looking to the one incapacitated against the wall where Po had launched him earlier. They seemed to be having a conversation with each other, debating something without speaking a single word. At last, the silence was broken.

" **انتهى. افعلها.** " the one leaning against the wall muttered in a foreign tongue that the masters couldn't understand. The elite facing down Tigress nodded slowly, and started to lower his blades.

The tiger approached, thinking he was about to surrender; but in another instant, the hooded assassin reversed the short blades in his paws to face into himself, and drove them into his abdomen with lethal force. The masters watched in bewilderment as the elite slumped to the ground, now dying by his own choice. Tigress finally put it together, and abruptly turned towards the other incapacitated bodyguard – just in time to watch him stab himself in the throat with a black-steel dagger. Their opponents had preferred death to being captured.

Po started to cautiously approach the nearest dead elite, the one Tigress had indirectly impaled earlier, and slowly lifted away the silver mask. The face below was an unfamiliar one – a leopard of some kind, speckled with small black spots; instead of grey, its fur was a pure white, save for the streaks of red blood that came from the mouth.

"I- I don't understand…" But that was all Po got to say, before he saw the tiger in his peripheral vision begin to sway uneasily.

Tigress had just removed a paw from her side, and it was stained dark red. "Po… I, uh…" she mumbled incoherently.

"Tigress – no!" Po screamed in horror, seeing her collapse to the ground.

 **And that's it for Chapter 3 – sorry about the cliffhanger! I simply couldn't resist! I really hope you like the story so far, and if you did, make sure to drop a review! The elites in this chapter are revealed to be Arabian Leopards, so the Arabic part translates roughly to "It is over. Do it." Also, a shoutout to Dragon Chronicle, who is beta-reading for this story now. Thanks for reading, and the next update is coming up very soon!**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	4. Bleeding Out

**Thanks for waiting guys hope you enjoyed! Here's chapter 4! This story is getting rather popular and it fills me with a writer's happiness and joy! I'm not gonna say much here but I will say that things have been getting worse for the panda and tiger duo so far and won't get better for a while. There will be some times where they are enjoying down time and other things but other than that - i** **t's hectic. Also a lot of these fight scenes have been inspired from real kung fu fight scenes me and my friend have watched. Also I happen to take real kung fu lessons so that helps too. Anyway, a lot will be revealed about the hood guy and he is also going to be mind battle for Po. So without further a due the story...**

Po quickly came over to the tiger's side where she had passed out from the massive blood loss. A small pool of blood was forming around her leg and from an unknown source on her torso. The panda, thinking quickly, picked the feline up in his arms and began to run back towards the noodle shop as quickly as he possibly could.

 _"I'm so so sorry this happened to you, Ti! But I'm not gonna let you die on me - I can't."_ he thought as a few tears came to his eyes while running with her in his arms. " _Please hang in there for me - I can't lose you!"_ His vision began to turn blurry as he ran, and a few tears slipped from his eyes.

After a few more seconds, he was at the entrance of the shop and he quickly ran inside.

"Dad! Tigress is hurt really bad; I need help - NOW!" the panda frantically demanded, and Mr. Ping didn't hesitate once he saw the trail of blood behind them, guiding them up towards Po's old room.

Po then set the injured tiger down on his old bed, and Mr. Ping rushed into the room with some towels he kept handy. Mr. Ping wrapped and tied a towel around the panda's arm where the deep cut was to stop the bleeding, before Po too would pass out.

The goose then handed Po the towel. "Apply pressure to the wound on the leg and it should stop the bleeding." he said, and Po nodded, quickly doing so.

This, however, didn't work for too long, and soon the blood began to soak through the towels and the bed from unknown sources. At this point Po was in panic mode, fearing the worst, seeing nothing seemed to be working and he couldn't figure out where the other source of the bleeding was at. Knowing he had to bandage the wounds quickly, he then ran around his room searching for some proper bandages while his dad went down to the kitchen to search for more towels.

"Ahh! No! Stay with me, Tigress - please! I'm begging you." he pleaded while he fumbled around his room for the bandages.

Meanwhile, the tiger's eyes began to open weakly as she was slipping in and out of consciousness. As she looked around to see where she was and take in her surroundings, she began to notice all the Kung Fu art and collectibles that Po had in his room. As she looked to her left, the tiger noticed that the panda had a huge, intricate painting of her on his wall. She was a little flattered by this, and the more she looked at the painting and its detail, she realized Po was the one who painted it. She tried to smile but found she was too drained and weak, so all she could do was growl quietly in pain before turning to her right again – seeing Po, who was searching for something frantically on the floor.

Po at last found the bandages, and when he heard a sound come from the tiger, he quickly turned his head and saw her looking at him with her amber eyes barely open.

The panda's eyes lit up with excitement and relief and he made his way over to her.

"Oh, thank the gods you're still alive!" he exclaimed happily with a few tears welling up in his jade eyes. "I was so worried that you weren't going to make it." he said with concern on his face as he took her right orange paw in his.

The tiger looked down at herself, blood still flowing out from multiple wounds. "That remains to be seen." she muttered weakly.

Po instantly picked up on what she was saying, and returned to putting intense pressure on the leg wound, starting to wrap the bandages firmly around her thigh to form a tight tourniquet to halt the bleeding. This had been the most serious wound, and Po breathed a little easier when the blood coming out had slowed somewhat.

Po squeezed her paw tighter and sighed. "You're gonna be just fine, ok?"

"It's ok, Po. I'm not going to leave my best friend anytime soon. It would take a lot more than this to bring me down for good." she said with a smile, giving his paw a caring squeeze.

At this point, Mr. Ping came back but he'd abandoned his search for towels and brought back a bottle of sake – a potent Asian alcohol. The goose would occasionally have a drink every now and again, but he always kept the bottles well hidden.

The panda turned around, and before he could say anything, the goose spoke up.

"We need to clean the wound now or it could get seriously infected." he stated matter-of-factly, walking over towards them with a bottle. "This sake should do it just fine."

 _"Sake. Well, this is gonna sting quite a bit."_ Tigress thought to herself, preparing for what was about to happen. The bleeding had been slowed down, and yet she still felt as if she was on the brink of passing out again.

Mr. Ping broke the seal off of the first bottle and then made his way over towards her leg on the bed. He handed the open bottle to Po, then ripped off some of her pant leg so that his son could pour the liquid directly into the wound.

Po looked over towards Tigress with a worried look. "I'm sorry about this, Ti. Just... please..." he begged. "You understand, right? I have to do this."

Tigress then winced in pain. "Just get it over with." she demanded, seeing his hesitation.

Po tipped the drink and poured an over-generous amount of the alcohol into the wound.

The tiger's body jolted in agony. "Ahhh!" she shouted briefly at the sudden stinging pain. "Ughhh!"

She continued to groan as she gritted her teeth and her paw squeezed Po's even tighter. The panda winced at the sharp pain in his paw, but he didn't let go and then Mr. Ping put the bottle down. At this point, Tigress's body and leg was shaking from the pain she had just endured. She was even sweating from the intensity.

"I'm so sorry, Ti!" he said in a worried tone, seeing her in such pain.

"D-don't be. Quit fussing over me - I'll be fine, Po." she teasingly, if a bit weakly, replied to the panda.

He nodded and grinned lightly, but he was still concerned and even scared quite a bit. Po and Mr. Ping then went over to the wound and began to firmly bandage the area and seal up the deep cut. Finally, the bleeding ceased completely in her thigh. But when Po removed his hand from her torso, it was still wet with fresh blood.

"Wait – where is all of _this_ blood coming from?" he asked frantically, looking to his father.

The goose put his wings up defensively. "Don't look at me! I'm a bird – I don't know the first thing about bleeding felines."

But as the two males were starting to bicker, Tigress – who knew very well where the wound was – groaned loudly and unsheathed her claws; she slashed them across her ornate golden hanfu, and revealed yet another serious wound that the panda and goose had missed entirely. Tigress had hoped she could keep this wound covered up for her own privacy's sake, but she now understood that living was her higher priority.

When Po saw this new wound, he understandably freaked out, leaping over to the bedside and yanking off what remained of the shredded outfit, quickly starting to wrap up her midsection with bandages. Tigress was a little startled by her suddenly less-clothed state, but very much appreciated that Po was doing this for her; she'd noticed that while he bandaged her wounds, he too had cuts that needed to be bandaged – specifically the one on his right arm which was still oozing some blood.

"Po… thanks for this. It means a lot to me, really - but when you're done, I need to bandage you next. You're not looking too good either." she said, concerned for the panda who had at this point completely forgotten about his own injuries just to care for her.

"No problem, Ti - I just couldn't let you die like this." he stated as he finished wrapping her midsection and the tiger smiled. "And… yes, I'd appreciate it if you did that." he said in agreement to her proposal, for he could still feel blood running down his arm.

Po bandaged another cut he'd discovered on Tigress' right shoulder blade, before she slowly and painfully sat up and began to work on his right arm. At first, she felt unbelievably lightheaded, but after a few moments her body began to adjust a little. She poured some sake over Po's wound, causing the panda to groan in pain. Tigress then caringly but firmly began to wrap up his right arm, and Po gritted his teeth as she did so.

"Sorry Po, but I've got to do this." she said, perhaps a little teasingly, as the panda had just said something similar to her a few moments before. "I'm not going to watch you bleed out, either." she added more seriously, now finished with the bandage and biting off the end where she stopped.

"It's all good…" he responded with a chuckle, just glad that they were both alive. A few moments later, Po looked at the tiger's striped back and her torn pant leg before looking back towards her eyes as she turned around to face him. "And it looks like you could use some new clothes, Ti." he added.

Tigress grinned a little. It felt good to have such small problems after just cheating death. She nodded, looking down at her somewhat disrobed state. Getting all the way up, she limped, feeling a jolt of pain in her leg as she took a step forward towards him.

"Yeah, I'll find some – but in the meantime, you need to convince the villagers to take back the valley. There's not many wolves left out there, and they could overpower them." Tigress stated as Mr. Ping gave her a towel to cover up, and a few dumplings and tofu cubes to regain her strength.

Po nodded. "Alright then. We'll take back the valley, one way or another." he said, making a fist and starting for the stairs, before turning back to Tigress. "And by the way? What color clothes you gonna wear this time?" he asked the tiger curiously. "The yellow outfit was pretty awesome - it's a shame it got destroyed."

Tigress smiled. "It's ok; I'm sure I'll find something new. And besides… the sleeves – they just got in my way, after all." she said with a smirk, and the panda rolled his eyes. "As for the color… I won't say."

"Dang it." he said quietly to her teasing, before continuing. "Well, we should go, and... please be careful." he warned gently, motioning to her bandages.

Tigress nodded. "I will... you too."

The two then slowly made their way out of the house, and Tigress limped out of the shop towards the remains of the clothes store a block away. Meanwhile, Po gathered some villagers close by to speak to them. A decent size crowd formed around him to listen to what the Dragon Warrior had to say. For the first few minutes, they discussed the state of the valley; what parts of the village had survived and which had been leveled, and who was present and who couldn't be accounted for.

"The empire will not stand for this – it is surely an insurrection of some kind!" a nearby pig pointed out.

"Agreed! It's only a matter of time before the imperial armies come to liberate us." a duck added.

Po shook his head. "They will never get here in time; how long do you think you can hide in here before the wolves find you?" the panda asked. The surviving villagers looked around at each other, but none of them had a good counter to this point.

"I think it's clear what we have to do – we have to fight back ourselves." Po explained.

Instantly the small shop erupted with protests. "We are not warriors! It would be suicide to attack them!" the survivors argued. Po tried to regain order by raising his paws up to silence the small crowd.

"We… we have to at least _try_. It's the only option we have!" he begged.

Just then, a voice spoke up, coming around the corner. "Po's right. It's time to fight back." Tigress said as she came into view and everyone turned to see her. Something about her presence started to inspire the surviving villagers into agreeing with Po.

Tigress now wore a sleeveless Jade green qipao with an opened lotus flower design and a dark green band around her waist and a fresh new pair of black pants. The new look suited her, and as she limped over towards them everyone looked in awe.

Po gasped as his eyes lit up, "Oh my gosh, that looks awesome!" he gushed. "Why'd you choose that, Ti?"

Tigress laughed softly at his goofy reaction, "Thanks, Po – figured I'd try something new. And I'll tell you later but we have more important matters at hand." she said to him quietly.

Po nodded and began to gather everyone in even closer to form a plan to take back the valley from the occupying invaders. Nearby, on an adjacent roof, a wolf scout watched the group with much interest.

 **Well that's it for Chapter 4! Hope y'all liked it thanks for the kind reviews! A lot is going down in this story and now Po and Tigress need to go find their friends somehow. They're both now severely injured and the valley is planning a rebellion. Will they be able to overthrow the occupying wolves? Find out next chapter! Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing.**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	5. Hope

**Author's Note:** **Hey guys! Here is Chapter Five; I'm sorry it took sooo long to update but here it is! Hopefully I won't take over a week next time - hope you're still following! Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you will continue to enjoy how the story progresses. Anyway, Po and Tigress have had their wounds bandaged and now they have to convince the rest of the valley to fight for their freedom. How will it go? Keep reading and find out!**

* * *

Meanwhile, the villagers were still in a panic, even after hearing what the masters had told them. Indeed, they weren't warriors nor had combat experience of any kind, but the masters believed in them.

"There is power in numbers." Tigress spoke up, turning back towards the villagers with a painful jolt. "If you all work together, you can take them out. There aren't very many of the wolves left; this advantage alone should allow you to overpower and defeat them." she stated simply, taking a step towards Po.

However, it was more of a limp of pain due to her leg, and Po - thinking fast - quickly caught her by wrapping an arm around her upper body before she could collapse.

"T-thanks, Po." she whispered as she wrapped an arm around the panda to stable herself.

The panda nodded to her with a faint smile before he too spoke up, "She's right you guys! You just... have to believe in yourselves..." the wounded master said looking around at them and Tigress turned her head towards him with a smile. "As you believed in us... so we now believe in you."

When hearing this, the villagers seemed to be more encouraged than before, and after a few moments of silence, they began to nod in agreement.

"Awesome!" Po exclaimed. "Now let's do this!" after this, the villagers in the noodle shop cheered excitedly.

Meanwhile, the wolf scout who had eavesdropped on the earlier meeting approached the noodle shop with the few dozen remaining wolves, having informed his comrades of the brewing rebellion. With the elites dead, they weren't as strong as they'd been before, but the wolves were determined to snuff out this insurrection before it got out of control. They agreed and planned one final attack against the villagers; to remove any hope that remained amongst the them.

Back inside the shop, Po was still holding onto Tigress, and he helped her sit down at a table to rest. The tiger very much appreciated this from him, and he even pulled out another chair for her to prop her injured leg on. She smiled at him in thanks, before Po began to organize the villagers inside the shop.

But a moment later, they heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps outside the shop. Soon it became painfully apparent that the wolves had discovered their location, and the villagers were terrified, running in all directions inside the restaurant.

"Guys, remember the plan! Lead them to the place we told you!" Po shouted above the crowd, and the villagers heard and remembered what they told them.

Not another second later, a massive impact at the barricade of the noodle shop sent the small inner courtyard into complete chaos.

"No survivors – no mercy!" one of the wolves screamed.

The wolves rushed in with spears and war-hammers, and the villagers who weren't immediately dropped to the ground scattered between the larger animals and over the walls to divide the attackers. Jumping up from where she was sitting, Tigress grabbed Po by the arms and launched him out to the street, knocking over many wolves in the process; he landed on his feet and Tigress began closely following the panda on all fours. The citizens of the valley immediately began leading the wolves out of the shop, and with Po and Tigress's help, down small streets and alleyways in all directions; the brutes pursued the brave villagers along with the injured masters with a determined ravenousness. But unbeknownst to the lupines, they were all being led to a single point – a large central courtyard in the merchant district.

Po and Tigress immediately went to the center of the open area and engaged the first few wolves to reach them – eventually taking up all the attention and luring the attackers into the open space where they had no cover. As the villagers regrouped, the trap was sprung, just as had been planned. From above, on the rooftops, the determined citizens began to throw bricks and fairly large rocks and other projectiles at the wolves below. Many of them tried to dodge or avoid them, but they had nowhere to go and this soon began thinning their numbers drastically; all the while, the two masters at the center of the action fought with complete desperation, having to avoid some of the friendly fire from above.

The wolves that remained, the masters did their best to handle despite their severely injured states; some of the villagers who were armed with sticks and metal woks came in to help. A brutal close-quarters melee ensued, where it would take several villagers to drag one of the brutes to the ground, often by slicing at the backs of their knees. When the masters could no longer fight due to their injuries, these villagers began to knock out the last wolves with their skillets, beating and kicking the others as hard as they could with their sticks.

Finally, the last of the wolves were taken down, and the remaining citizens of the valley cheered happily over their costly victory. The villagers then began to drag the dead and unconscious wolves down the streets and out of the valley, throwing them down the steep cliff next to the bridge. The other villagers then began to work on clearing away the rubble, initiating the imposing task of rebuilding the Valley of Peace from the destruction.

Having collapsed from exhaustion, Po and Tigress did not stir from unconsciousness for almost an hour after the victory; a few villagers who'd thought they had died prodded them with twigs – only to discover they were in fact alive.

Leaning on each other for support, they started back through the streets, passing some buildings that were still burning. Before the masters could enter the shop again, Tigress stopped and noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Something dripping. She saw on the ground red drops forming and as she looked up, she saw the source of blood dripping from Po's injured arm. It ran down his arm and fell at the tips of his digits. Her eyes widened in concern, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Po, your arm!" she shouted concerned and the panda looked over at it.

"What's wrong, Ti - ah! It's bleeding…" he exclaimed in shock and a somewhat high-pitched tone.

"Yeah and we need to fix it now or else..." she started, but then Po continued.

"Like the hearts of a thousand wounded warriors in the heat of a bodaciously awesome battle!" he continued fanboyishly, and Tigress just stared at him for a second, before quietly shaking her head with a small chuckle, pinching the bridge of her nose. She couldn't hope to understand how the panda stayed so upbeat at times like these.

"Well, let's tend to that arm 'oh mighty wounded warrior' before things get worse." she added with a weak smile, playing along with his antics.

The panda chuckled but the ash in the air caused him to start coughing. He nodded, and the two helped each other back into the shop. Mr. Ping then led them into the kitchen to a place where they could sit down, and he could change Po's bandage. Po and Tigress sat down next to each other on a bench and the three began to talk.

"You should be more careful, son." the goose said, removing his now blood-soaked bandage with Tigress wrapping the new one tightly over the wound and biting off the end gauze. Po whispered a 'thank you' to the tiger, who smiled with an assuring nod, before his father spoke up again.

"If you don't you could bleed out. You should not have fought so soon after being injured." he stated in a worried tone.

"I know, dad, but we needed to do something to take back the valley – we couldn't just leave it to those wolves." he pointed out with a sigh and a small groan of pain.

"And you have well." the goose said, placing a wing on his shoulder with a concerned look. "But you could have been killed."

The three then grew somberly quiet, reflecting on the unfortunate string of recent events.

After a while, Mr. Ping had an idea to change the subject and lower the tension they all were feeling by lightening the mood – and what better way than by embarrassing his son?

"Ah, this reminds me!" the goose chimed up excitedly. "I've recently found some old family portraits..." he said as he turned around and began to dig through some items under the counter.

After hearing this, Po groaned in annoyance, knowing the horrors he was about to see. "Daaad!" he whined. "Please, not those! They're _really_ embarrassing." he mumbled, not wanting to go through this now or Tigress to see them.

Mr. Ping chuckled, "And that's exactly why I _want_ to show my Xiao Po. Now where did I put them?" he said as he began to search through various boxes.

A tint of red came to the panda's white face and he pouted, while folding his arms with a groan – no Kung Fu warrior deserved this. Meanwhile, Tigress couldn't help but laugh softly especially after hearing Po's father call him _little Po_.

"You're not exactly 'Xiao' Po anymore." Tigress said teasingly with laughter still in her voice causing Po's cheeks to darken even more. Immediately she was starting to feel regret at her little joke and tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Po; I was just teasing." Tigress said gently with a look of guilt over her face. "I didn't mean anything by that."

Po then smiled softly at her, "It's ok, Ti; I know you didn't." he said, assuring her he wasn't mad. "I'm sure you meant 'grown-up' right?"

Tigress nodded, "You have grown, Po. That I can say for sure." she said with a smile which the panda returned as their eyes met.

"Oh, I found them!" the goose spoke up interrupting their gaze as the two turned their heads to face him.

 _"Oh, no."_ Po thought with a sigh as he began to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to endure.

All of a sudden, Mr. Ping pulled out one of the pictures from the box, and it was revealed to be a young Po sitting on top of Mr. Pings back. The cub seemed to have a very excited expression while the younger goose appeared to be in pain with the panda on his back.

"Look at baby Po, when I tried to give him a piggy back ride!" the goose gushed showing the image to the pair.

Po rubbed the back of his head nervously wishing he could just disappear in that moment. Tigress, on the other hand, trying to be respectful, simply turned her attention to her claws - extending and retracting them every so often as she watched the black smoke rising from the valley.

Mr. Ping tried to show one to Tigress, but she just gently looked away. "Master Tigress, you should see this one!" he said holding up a different picture.

The tiger shook her head, "It's ok, Mr. Ping. I prefer not to intrude on your privacy."

"Oh, but Master Tigress, you might like this one. I insist!" he said excitedly.

"Please, Mr. Ping I-" she was saying but cut herself off when she caught a glimpse of the painting.

The artwork was one of a teenage Po who had hair down to his eyes and a big happy smile in his face, holding his Tigress action figure. It was the day he made it and he couldn't put it down from the looks of the painting.

Seeing this, Tigress now couldn't hide her smile that was forming on her face. At this point, Po looked over and when he saw _that_ portrait, his heart skipped a beat in fear.

"No, not that!" he whined nervously, obviously embarrassed as he tried to grab it, but it was already too late - she saw it.

"Ooh! Let me see that one." Tigress finished with a grin, snatching the image before Po could grab it, to his dismay.

Tigress took the image in her paw and admired it with a fond, warm smile. Po's face felt like it was on fire and he desperately tried to grab it, but Tigress moved the paw away from his reach and held him back with her other paw on his forehead while he squirmed like a child and tried his best to grab it but to no avail.

"Well, someone sure likes their Tigress action figure, huh?" she said teasingly; her smile turned into a smirk as she looked at the panda who had ceased struggling.

Po sat straight up, chuckled, and then looked away bashfully, "Yeah I-I made that one myself." he said looking at the floor. _"But I like the real thing a million times better."_ he thought to himself in his head, taking a good look at the striped feline before him.

The tiger chuckled, "You're very creative, Dragon Warrior. But tell me... what happened to the long hair? It suited you well."

Po now turned back around and rubbed the top of his head, "Ah, I don't know, just decided to cut it for some reason. Maybe I'll grow it back one day." he said thoughtfully with a shrug, and Tigress nodded with a small smile.

"I remember _that_ hair." Mr. Ping spoke up with a chuckle as Tigress gave the picture back and he put it back into the box with the others. "I _also_ remember you wanted to get a nose-ring too!" he said, putting the box down and turning his attention towards Po, placing his wings on his hips.

The panda cringed at the memory; he recalled how Master Storming Ox used to have a nose-ring and he thought that if he got one too, it would make him look tough. Shaking it off, he sighed, "Yeah, but that phase is _waaay_ over, dad. I'm glad I didn't." he said, gently rubbing his nose with his pointer and thumb digits.

The goose scoffed, "Me too. I simply couldn't allow my son to do that. It just wouldn't look right on you and you were being bullied enough already." he stated, putting the box back under the counter.

Po's face dropped when hearing the last part – this didn't go unnoticed by Tigress. "I know that now dad." he mumbled.

Mr. Ping then gave them a few dumplings and noodles to snack on which they thanked him for graciously - especially Po - who was naturally hungry. While they ate, Tigress decided to change the subject, realizing some time had passed and it was almost noon.

"Mr. Ping, thank you for this but... we have to go find where our friends were taken to." she said, eating one last tofu cube.

The goose sighed sadly, "Ok, but... you just got back."

"That may be, but it is important that we find them. They were taken by the enemy, and we don't know what's become of them." the tiger explained as Po finished his bowl of dumplings.

The goose gave a conceding nod, and Tigress turned to Po, "Do you remember the one wolf who was beating me earlier – the one that you hit?"

Po nodded with a solemn expression, "How could I forget – do you think he'll know anything?" he asked, putting down his bowl and chopsticks.

"I'm sure he would – I think he was a leader of some sort. Let's track him down and find out, ok?" she asked, and he nodded as the two got up from where they were seated.

"We'll be back shortly, Mr. Ping - don't worry." she assured the goose with gentle smile and he nodded and ushered them out.

Once they exited the shop, Po led the limping tiger down the streets and alleyways until they arrived at the location where the fight with the wolves and then the elites had begun. They began searching for the first wolf who Po had beat down earlier before the elites arrived, and Tigress, noticing some drag marks in the mud, got down on a knee and began to inspect it.

"From the looks of it, he couldn't have gotten far." she said, getting up. "Let's follow it and it should lead us right to him." she stated, and the panda nodded in agreement.

The two then followed the skid marks a few blocks away to another alley where they found the same wolf crawling away pathetically. He was holding his head, obviously sore from the beating Po gave him earlier, and his maw was still red with blood. Po began to make his way over to him as he was still slowly crawling through the mud.

When he saw Po and Tigress out of the corner of his eye he scoffed. "You two again? What do you want – did the elites give you more than you could handle?" he mocked with a sneer when seeing their injuries.

Then Po frowned remembering all they did to him and Tigress. He then walked over to him, and roughly dragged him up against a wall.

"Ok buddy we can do this the easy way, the hard way, or... the semi-medium-easy-hard way." Po said with a serious expression, holding him up with a single paw and the wolf rolled his eyes. "Where's our friends, jerk?" he questioned as Tigress limped to his side.

The wolf laughed then glared at him, "You're too much, panda. Ya know… if I wasn't in the state I'm in now... and your stripy friend was tied up..." he was saying as Po glared at him. "I would happily beat her again."

Hearing this, Po simply let go of the lowlife, letting him fall back down to the ground – causing the wolf to groan in pain when his bruised head hit the mud. Tigress, after hearing what the wolf said, scoffed and rolled her eyes. _"Yeah, like you could ever take me head on."_ she thought.

"Wrong answer. You're never gonna hurt her or anyone that I care about _ever_ again. Now, let's try this again..." he said sternly as the wolf shook his head from the mud and sat up. "Where... are... our... friends?"

"You hit hard, panda – you know that? I've still got a headache." the wolf groaned spitting some blood from his mouth onto the ground. "As for your friends and the old red panda... might as well tell you… no use in hiding it now."

"Good." Po said putting his arm down.

"We're waiting." Tigress said folding her arms.

The wolf sighed then began weakly, "The army and our master are heading directly northwest from this valley with your friends. From the looks of it they've already got a day's start on you." he said with a chuckle.

"Ok but... where to?" Po questioned. But the wolf didn't answer as he began coughing up blood again.

Just then, Tigress spoke up, "It's ok, Po. I know where they're going." she said, for this was starting to make sense.

"Huh? How do you- where?" Po asked confusedly, turning towards her.

"They're going to the capital." she stated. "And I just do. Trust me."

Po then smiled with a nod, "Ok I do. It kinda makes sense. You're awesomely smart, Ti." he complimented to which Tigress smiled.

"Let's not waste any more time – we have a long journey ahead of us." Tigress said as she habitually went to put her paw in her sleeves - only to realize she didn't have any - causing her to smile slightly.

Po got up and chuckled seeing Tigress do this. "Alright let's go, and... I saw that." he teased with a smirk.

"Hush, you." she teased back. "Just a habit. We should get going." she added, changing the subject and then the two started to head back to the noodle shop but then the wolf spoke up from behind them.

"You gonna leave me alone here with all the people with pointy sticks?" he whined as he tried to get up but couldn't.

Tigress sighed, "Yes. We will leave you to the mercy of the villagers."

The wolf groaned before passing out face first in the mud with a splat.

"Welp, the pointy stick brigade should be after him in no time." Po joked, and Tigress couldn't help but chuckle and smile hearing this.

"Yeah sure, Po." she added, amused.

 _"How is it Po that you manage to make me laugh even at times like this?"_ Tigress thought to herself as she shook her head.

The two then continued their walk back to the noodle shop to prepare for their journey. Once they arrived, Mr. Ping was at the entrance waiting for them of course.

"Did you two find out where Shifu and your friends were taken?" he asked, and Po nodded.

"Yes, and we need to go after them immediately." Po replied.

A worried look came over the gooses face, "Now? Where are you going?"

"Nanjing." Tigress answered. "The army is already a day ahead of us and we don't have time to waste." she stated, and the gooses head dropped.

"Oh." he whispered sadly knowing a trip to the capital was a long journey – especially considering their wounded state.

"I'll go pack up some supplies – be ready to leave in a few minutes, Po." Tigress said before departing in the other direction.

Mr. Ping then turned his attention to his son with a worried look while the tiger ran off.

"Do you really have to go, son? This trip is dangerous – not to mention you both are seriously wounded! You need rest!" he pleaded, but Po's face remained solemn and sincere.

"Yeah… I have to, dad. The fate of China and the whole world could be at stake… again. Not to mention Shifu and the others could be in extreme danger and we need to get to them!" Po replied, placing a paw on his father's shoulder.

The goose bowed his head trying to hold back a few tears. "O-ok... But why is it that you always have to go on these dangerous life-threatening missions!?" he complained as his vision started to blur and his thoughts began to race. "I don't want you to die, Po." he choked.

Po sighed sadly as he himself was trying not to shed tears, "Because I'm the Dragon Warrior - it's my duty to fight this threat to China. And I won't, dad... I'll come back to you." he said softly as he gave the goose a hug which he returned.

"You better come back, son. Safe and sound." Mr. Ping whispered as a few tears slipped from his eyes.

"I will try." Po said releasing him and setting him down.

Just then Tigress spoke up as she made her way towards the entrance of the shop with two large backpacks filled with various supplies: food, extra bandages, a bottle of sake, some rope, flint rocks, a map, and some other things. "Don't worry Mr. Ping; I'll keep him safe." she said gently with a kind smile.

The goose nodded slowly with a sad expression. "Be sure that you do. He's the only son I have." he said with a fearful expression. This unfamiliar look of dread in the goose gave the tiger a feeling of unease, but Tigress nodded and bowed to him, nonetheless.

"You ready, Po?" Tigress asked gently handing him one of the packs.

The panda hesitated for a second, exchanging looks with his father before he nodded, "Yeah. Let's go." he whispered, finally breaking the gaze and taking the pack in his paw.

Tigress placed a paw on his shoulder and gave him a comforting smile, and then the two began to walk away from the noodle shop, leaving the goose behind as they made their way towards the exit of the valley. As they walked down the dirt streets with the sun on their backs, a breeze began to pick up, swirling around the warriors as they set out on their journey – all alone, an army comprised of only two.

* * *

 **And that's the end if Chapter 5! I'm sooooo sorry I didn't update sooner! Forgive me for keeping y'all waiting so long; I'll try to update more frequently. Anyway, this is the beginning of the journey for Po and Tigress to find their friends in this Crucible. Fires are burning - will they make it? Find out in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and following! And thanks again to Dragon Chronicle for beta-reading. Let me know your thoughts if you liked it!**


	6. Abyss

**Here's the next chapter guys! So much is happening right now! With the masters no longer in the valley or the comforts of home, they will face many dangers and be pushed to their limits in this trial. I'm also trying to have this go with the tone of the movies (also notice Po and Tigress aren't bickering like the series, LoA - which isn't canon in general nor is it here - so you won't see them act like that in this story). For anyone who thinks otherwise regarding the series, I have made a video that proves it as not canon. Anyway, the journey to the capitol is a long one - will they make it? Find out!**

After more than a day and a half of travel, the two masters had now left the Valley of Peace, and were making their way towards the bridge – the infamous Thread of Hope – which was situated at the important strategic position at the opening to the valley. A gentle breeze cooled their fur, balancing out the heat from the intense rays of the sun shining above them.

As they walked, Po turned his attention from the enjoyable scenery, to the tiger in front of him, breaking the silence. "Hey, Ti?"

"What is it, Po?" she replied nonchalantly, looking up from the map she was reading to the panda. "You've been rather quiet back there." she added, noticing Po hadn't said much since they left.

"Yeah, I know..." he answered, chuckling casually. "Since this is going to be a _long_ adventure, I was thinking that I'll try not to talk your head off." the panda said quietly, rubbing the back of his head.

Tigress smiled, "No, it's fine, Po. You can talk to me if you want." she replied calmly, but the tiger knew there was another reason why Po was being quiet. "It's nice to have someone to talk to but... I don't think that's what's on your mind."

Tigress could tell something was wrong by the tone of his voice; the panda sighed in defeat, knowing she was right. "Yeah, I'm just thinking about what you and my dad talked about before we left." he explained solemnly. "Will we even come back alive, Tigress? What even _is_ the plan to find and rescue everyone? We don't even know who this hood guy is." Po spilling his anxious thoughts was something he did frequently with the tiger; she was a good listener, and didn't mind hearing whatever was troubling him. This was a trait that made her somewhat unique to Po, with perhaps the sole exception of Master Viper. Tigress, however, just always seemed to understand the panda more than the others in the Jade Palace.

The tiger listened intently to every word, and she understood what he was saying, but also the fact that they had to keep moving until they found at least some clues as to where their friends were. She then thought carefully for a moment for her response.

"Po..." she began as gently as she could manage. "I'm not trying to be harsh or anything, but we need to keep moving. Try not to think about that too much right now, ok?" Po nodded in understanding, knowing she had a point. "We need to find where the others were taken - or at least some clues. I promised your father I would keep you alive and safe... and I keep my promises, panda." she concluded, giving him a small smile.

"Ok... I'll try; I understand what you mean, Tigress - thanks." Po replied, doing his best to match her facial expression.

Tigress nodded, "No problem at all. This will be a long journey, but as long as there are still two of us, we will be fine; just... don't worry too much." she added and then opened up the map in her paw to read over it again for directions.

"Alright – I admire your optimism." Po said as they approached the bridge that led out of the valley.

"It's determination, not optimism." she answered, the tiger's characteristic confidence returning to her voice.

The two began to engage into their usual conversations about various things they enjoyed as they now began crossing the hanging bridge. However, as soon as Po stepped on the bridge, he began to walk slowly and uneasily as he looked below them in fear. Tigress noticed the panda's struggle behind her and looked back towards him.

"What's wrong, Po?"

"It's... a long way down - ah!" Po exclaimed nervously as he felt the bridge's wooden planks creak beneath his feet. A fall from this height would certainly mean an instantaneous death.

"What!?" Tigress scoffed, rolling her eyes slightly. "You've been on higher places than this, Po." she added with a hint of teasing in her voice, folding her arms as she casually stood on the bridge, showing off her superior feline balance.

Po then shrieked again when another board made a louder creak. "That was different, Tigress! That was a _tower_ in Gongmen. This _bridge_ is over a deep, endless abyss!"

Tigress just shook her head and chuckled before reaching into her backpack and pulling out a dumpling - holding it in front of the panda. "Maybe _this_ will help." she said with a small smirk knowing he couldn't resist food.

Po's face instantly lit up, "Oooh! Gimme!" he begged, reaching a paw out to grab it.

Tigress simply moved her paw away, "Come get it then, panda." she said playfully as she turned around and began to advance forward.

"Hey! No fair!" he whined, but began to make his way forward towards her – having entirely forgotten about the steep cliff they stood over.

The two then began moving again across the bridge and Po held onto the ropes for dear life as he kept his eyes on the tiger and the dumpling in front of him. Once they were just over half way across Po began to lose his balance as he looked down again and before he could fall back - without thinking - he quickly reached forward and grabbed the closest thing to him: that, of course, being Tigress' long, striped tail.

Tigress's eyes widened in surprise and heat began to rush to her cheeks as she looked back at him with a serious expression. "Po... don't do that." she said sternly. "I'd rather you _not_ yank my spine out."

Po laughed nervously and instantly let go of her tail. "Ah, sorry about that, Ti. Almost lost my balance for a second there - didn't mean to do _that_." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Tigress's expression softened when seeing his innocence. "It's fine, Po. Let's keep moving... that is, if you still want this dumpling." she added, flashing him the sticky dumpling in her paw.

Po eyes widened like a little child's. "Yes!" he said enthusiastically as his stomach growled slightly.

Before too long, they had made it across the bridge, and Tigress at last gave the sticky dumpling to Po - who ate it effortlessly in a single bite. She too took out some tofu cubes and snacked on them as they continued walking and talking as usual.

About an hour or so later, the two masters arrived at a village sitting on the cliff side of a mountain - reminiscent of the musician's village they'd once rescued from Shen's wolves. The village was covered by a dense, hazy fog, and it was difficult to see at first until they drew closer. Upon their arrival they began to notice several buildings were destroyed and a few others were charred by fire. There were some houses that were still standing, but it was obvious whatever attacked this village had to be massive; it had to be some kind of army – surely the one that had done the same thing to the Valley of Peace.

Upon the realization of this apparent lead, they began to quickly make their way into the village as fast as their wounds would allow. Slowed by Tigress' limping, they still arrived at the entrance of the village quickly. As they began to walk through the streets, they noticed a few villagers hiding behind crates and broken houses in fear, all of their previous possessions smoldering in the streets. The ones that survived were terrified and seeing this, Po felt heartbroken - wanting to help every one of them in any way he could. Tigress couldn't help but feel concern herself seeing the state they were all in. As they ventured further into the muddy main street, some of the villagers recognized them and they were filled with elation.

"We're saved! It's the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress!" one of them shouted excitedly and the rest, hearing this, began to come out from the shadows and broken-down buildings.

Po smiled seeing them - happy to see there were survivors as they began to run forward and surround the two masters. Po greeted them warmly, and he started to ask the village elder if an army of some kind did this to them. Just then, a little female bunny, who was no more than five, ran towards Tigress and wrapped her arms around her legs as best she could in a tight embrace.

Tigress tried not to wince as she applied pressure to the wound on her leg. The tiger smiled at the child wrapped around her, and she affectionately placed a paw on her back to return the embrace.

"Hello, little one." she whispered sweetly to the bunny clinging to her legs. "Are you ok?" she asked gently rubbing her back.

The bunny lifted her head from Tigress's leg and nodded with an adorable smile and a twinkle in her blue eyes. "I am now. You can help us. Thank you for coming Master Tigwess!" she exclaimed, relieved.

Tigress' weak spot had always been children. She felt great sympathy for this child, knowing that just by coming, they had given them hope. Perhaps she related to children on a deeper level, for her own childhood had left much to be desired – she understood that no child deserved to feel pain as she had.

After breaking the tender embrace, the little bunny's facial expression changed to a desperate one.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked softly, seeing her sad worried expression.

"Please help! My mother is trapped, and she can't get free!" she begged as tears threatened to escape her blue eyes.

Po heard this and came to Tigress's side with just as much concern. "Where is she, sweetie? Take me to her!" The bunny nodded in response and took off in the opposite direction at once.

The two masters followed the little white bunny to a house that had collapsed down over a small street. Once they arrived, they immediately saw a larger white bunny trapped under a large chunk of cement which pinned the lower half of her body, preventing her from escaping.

The two masters tried to lift the boulder of cement but found they couldn't due to their injuries. Refusing to give up, Po quickly thought up an idea.

"Step aside. I think I have an idea that may work." Po stated, and Tigress and the little bunny did so.

"What do you have in mind, Po?" Tigress asked curiously, now holding the child in her arms.

"Wait and see." he said confidently with a smile before putting his paws together.

Tigress gave him a weird look before her eyes widened in realization as she had a feeling of what he might do. Having acquired chi while in the Spirit Realm, he hadn't quite figured out how to heal with it, but he knew how to fight with it by manipulating objects.

The panda began to concentrate for a moment and rubbed his paws together, before separating them as his paws were now glowing bright yellow. He then placed the glowing paw on the slab of concrete and began to concentrate more intensely - focusing on the chi and the slab.

Tigress watched in awe seeing this, as she anticipated what he was doing. All of a sudden, a loud cracking was heard from the slab as many deep cracks began to form. Soon it began to crumble until it broke apart.

 _Boom!_

The concrete slab had now crumbled and disintegrated, releasing the bunny's mother from her trapped state. Tigress was utterly speechless. She then set the child down, who ran over towards her mother and embraced her happily with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, mama - I thought you weren't gonna make it!" the little bunny cried as her mother returned her embrace.

"But I did, sweetheart - thanks to the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress." she said gratefully looking towards them with a smile.

The two masters then bowed politely in response before the little bunny then released her mother and timidly walked over to Tigress.

"M-master Tigress?" she asked shyly as her ears flattened.

The tiger smiled warmly as she knelt down eye level with the child. "What is it, little one?"

The bunny then picked up a small plank of broken wood – a remnant of her demolished house – and presented it to the tiger master.

"M-may I-I have your autograph?" she asked timidly.

Tigress just smiled and nodded, closing her eyes in contentment before taking the wood in her paw. "Of course. Do you have anything to write with?" she asked, but the child shook her head.

Unfazed, the tiger unsheathed her claws and aimed carefully, before slashing across the piece of wood leaving her claw marks embedded into the plank. Tigress, now satisfied, smiled and carved her name in Chinese at the top, along with a short inscription, before handing the plank of wood back to the now excited child.

The bunny gasped and squealed happily taking the wood into her arms, holding it close like a precious treasure. She read the carving of her name along with the inscription that read, _"Always be true to yourself and others. Never forsake the little things - keep the ones you love close."_

The child grinned widely after reading these words the tiger carved for her. Before Tigress knew it, the bunny wrapped herself around the tiger's legs once again in a tight embrace causing her to wince in pain from her wound, but she hid it with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Master Tigress! I'll keep it forever." she said gratefully with a small giggle.

"You're welcome, little one." she said kindly while stroking her head gently. "Remember that there is always hope."

"I will!" she beamed, breaking the embrace and joining her mother's side once again. "And by the way... my name is Wing Sing." the child said with a polite bow which the two returned.

"Pretty name. It's nice to meet you, Wing Sing." Tigress said softly in response.

Po at this point was nearly in tears, smiling ear to ear, after seeing such a sweet moment; noticing this, Tigress gave a subtle eye-roll. He sniffed and wiped his eyes briefly before composing himself. Wing Sing then handed the plank to Po - insisting he autograph it as well, which he did, before handing it back to her, who took it happily.

"Thank you both for saving us." the mother said gratefully, limping up next to her daughter. "We'll forever be in your debt."

"It's no problem at all – we're happy to help!" Po said kindly with his usual charming smile.

The two masters then made their way back into the streets to look for clues as to where their friends had been taken, as it was by now rather obvious that they were headed in the right direction. Upon arrival in the main street, Tigress noticed some freshly stirred up dirt and an object to her left. The tracks showed sign of a struggle and among the dirt, Tigress knelt down and picked up a white and blue feather and inspected it. She knew right away who the feather belonged to.

"It's Crane." Tigress stated to Po as he came to her side. "The scent, and these tracks, are fresh. They were here yesterday – we're gaining on them."

Po clapped, "Awesome! Look at you, being so smart!" he said playfully, lightly swatting up the underside of her arm.

Tigress smiled at the panda with a slight smirk at his odd complement before standing to her feet once again - with Po's help of course due to her leg wound. She thanked him with a nod before they began to make their way over towards their packs to resume their journey. But before the masters could pick them up again, Wing Sing and her mother approached them from a distant alley.

The two stopped what they were doing and looked towards them before little Wing Sing spoke up - still clutching the piece of wood Tigress had carved earlier.

"Will I ever see you two again?" she asked with a worried look in her now tear-glistened, blue eyes.

"Of course!" Po exclaimed with a grin.

"Absolutely. We will come back as soon as we can, Wing Sing. I promise." she smiled softly.

The little white bunny walked towards her - nodded and extended her pinkie towards the tiger. Tigress smiled before connecting her pinkie with the child's, wrapping around it briefly before releasing her and the bunny smiled, now satisfied.

Just then as they were about to pick up their packs and leave to follow the trail, heavy footsteps and shouting could be heard from the entrance of the village.

"Ugh. What now?" Tigress mumbled, annoyed, under her breath as a group of bandits began to pour into the village, no-doubt there to loot whatever valuables the army had left behind in its wake.

Po however jumped up and down, ready for the fight. "C'mon let's kick their butts and then we can go – alright, Ti?" Po said excitedly, looking over at her as he got into his stance.

Tigress sighed and nodded - her expression softened slightly at his enthusiasm and she too got into her stance. Nonetheless, she was concerned about fighting once more in their somewhat pathetically weakened state. As per usual, most of the lowlifes were wolves, but a fair number were foxes and leopards as well.

The bandits ran right towards them down the main street, armed with clubs, hammers, and medium-sized sabers. The first bandit who appeared to be the leader charged right for Tigress, swinging a large club. The bludgeon splintered into tiny bits when colliding with her ironwood-conditioned paw, much to the bandit's shock. The tiger then countered with a palm strike to his face knocking him out of the fight instantly. Po took out two bandits with his famous belly-butt and another with a straight side kick knocking him out as he flew into a nearby wall. Tigress was now handling three at once - and usually this would be easy - but due to her wounds, especially the ones on her shoulder blade and leg, blocking and striking became difficult and extremely painful to say the least. One of the bandits fighting her noticed that she was trying to mask her intense pain.

"You're wounded aren't you, tiger? It must be hard to fight with all those wounds." he taunted with a smug look on his face, drawing back his weapon for another strike.

Tigress groaned as he landed a hit in her stomach where one wound was and almost buckled when he kicked her thigh. She growled, trying to hide her discomfort and agony as she took out two of them.

"Shut up." she replied, gritting her teeth. "I'm not that easy to beat." She then blocked the bandit's attack and sent him flying back with a double palm strike.

Tigress now visibly groaned and buckled a little under the sharp jolt of pain from her shoulder blade – performing her signature move had cost her dearly. She shouldn't have let him get into her head.

Po finished off the two bandits in front of him with a split kick and he noticed Tigress bent over slightly and growling in pain.

"Tigress!" he shouted in a concerned tone seeing this. "Are you ok!?" He ran over towards her as quick as he could and took out the bandit that was coming for her next.

The tiger shakily tried to stand up to her feet again, placing her paw over her back, and onto the wounded shoulder blade, which was now throbbing. "I-I'll be fine, Po - don't worry." she whispered as the panda now carefully helped her the rest of the way, kicking an oncoming brigand in the face.

"Ughh." she groaned again, still baring her teeth and eyes half-shutting.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"My right shoulder blade." she stated.

"Oh." he said in understanding. "Wait here, I'll finish off the rest - you can't fight anymore." he said as worry began to lace his words.

"Yes, I can!" she insisted as Po took out a bandit behind them with a backfist and another with a hook kick. "I have to. You can't beat them all by yourself - you're injured too, Po!" she added seriously with concern for him as well.

"No, you can't, Tigress." He was now looking straight into her amber eyes. "I can at least try - I don't want _you_ getting any more hurt than you already are." he said firmly but sincerely as the two locked eyes.

Tigress wanted to say something in return - that she could indeed fight, as tough as she was, but she found that she just couldn't say anything with the look in Po's eyes. There was something there, an understanding that Po had. The tiger nodded slowly, conceding as Po took out a bandit with an elbow but never taking his eyes off hers.

The number of bandits had decreased drastically, and they had to come up with a way to beat them. But unfortunately, the brigands had a nasty idea to even things up and put the odds in their favor.

Just as Po turned to face them, one bandit, the leader, ran over and grabbed young Wing Sing, who was hiding behind a barrel, and wrapped an arm around her tightly so she couldn't escape. She screamed and tried to get away, but it was no use - she was their hostage.

Tigress gasped seeing this - feeling her heart sink but soon, a fire of rage burned deep in her eyes and a deep tiger-growl came up from her throat, when the bandit holding the terrified, squirming bunny, put a knife to her throat. Po was surprised hearing this, as he'd never heard her growl like that or see her this angry. But he too knew what she was feeling, for he was pretty angry himself seeing these bandits do this. He narrowed his eyes at them, the same way he'd once done at a peacock in Gongmen City, the same way he looks at anyone who seeks to harm the innocent.

"You put her down right now - YOU COWARDS!" Tigress demanded angrily while gritting her teeth - showing her sharp canines.

"Ha! We're bandits, remember? We don't have to play by the rules!" the bandit holding Wing Sing teased.

The child at this point was shaking in fear - trying not to cry at the hands of these lowlifes. The bandits began to laugh as they recognized their superior position to the masters.

"Now we're getting somewhere! All you have to do is just surrender... and the kid lives!" the leader suggested smugly.

"Noooo! Please don't hurt my baby girl - she's all I have left!" the mother cried as she fell to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes.

Meanwhile, Tigress hearing what he said - suggesting he would kill the child - growled ferociously again, but this time it was mixed in with a bit of a roar. This frightened some of the bandits, who jumped back in fear.

Po glared at them and wanted nothing more than to banish them to the Spirit Realm; should they hurt the child – spill even a single drop of her blood – this would happen for sure. But now, their only option at this point was clear.

Poor Wing Sing, as brave as she was trying to be for her heroes, couldn't stop shaking in fear as tears were welling up in her eyes. "P-please M-master Tigress! Po! Save me!" she whimpered and begged as the blade pressed up against her throat.

"We will, sweetie! Don't be afraid, ok?" Tigress said as her facial expression now softened towards her. She knew her words had sounded empty.

"Don't hurt her." Po spoke up calmly getting the bandits' attention. "We'll do what you want..."

Everyone looked towards the two masters in anticipation. This was their last option, but what choice did they have?

" _We surrender_."

 **Whooo! Some interesting stuff happening here! I hope you like it so far and I apologize for not updating more frequently like I said I would. Life happened and stuff like that ya know? Anyway, what will happen to the masters now? Will sweet little Wing Sing make it? Find out in Chapter 7! Be sure to favorite and follow the story to stay tuned and even drop a review to let me know your thoughts!**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	7. Past Scars

**Hey guys welcome to chapter 7! Thanks for the reviews and follows! Some intense stuff is going on so far. The masters have surrendered but under dire situations. Keep reading and find out what happens next! What will become of them can only be speculated at the hands of these ruthless bandits. Normally it would be a piece of cake to take out common crooks such as these but due to their injuries their performance has indeed been impaired. Escape seems out of sight at this point... or is it?**

Overcast skies now hung ominously over the burnt cliffside village. As bandits freely roamed about the streets, very few of them were still concerned about the tiger and panda being held at the very center of town. The two masters were tied to opposite ends of a pole, formerly a supporting column for a house which had since been leveled. The multilayered and thick bindings around their torsos kept their backs tightly pressed to the charred wood, and their arms were of even less use to them, as their wrists were weighed down by heavy eight-point acupuncture cuffs.

As they sat like this on the muddy ground, Po began to look over to his side, only to notice Tigress was fuming. She was understandably upset over the current circumstances of losing to such an easily-beatable enemy and having to watch the villagers lose their homes and all their valuables. But there seemed to be something else, for Po could still hear a growl in her throat while she tried to jerk free of the ropes and cuffs but that only further added to her anger and pain.

Before the panda could say anything though, the tiger spoke up. "This is totally pathetic - completely embarrassing!" she stated angrily. "We could have defeated them, Po - surrendering is a such dishonor!" she ranted, feeling humiliated by the current state they were in as the bandits plundered what was left of the village.

Po understood why she was feeling this way, but it seemed she had forgotten why they'd had to do what they did. "This isn't befitting of us at all; we're warriors-" she continued in her rant but was cut off by Po's gentle, calming voice.

"Tigress..." he began, trying to ease her nerves. "Please... calm down - getting frustrated now _isn't_ what we need." From what Po could see out of the corner of his eye, her expression hadn't changed at all.

Tigress, still upset, shot back, "Calm down? Calm down!? We just lost to a small group of bandits who are now plundering this village, we're tied to a pole in the middle of it, and now we're even further behind our friends, and you want me to calm down!?" she shouted angrily once again, but more so at the circumstances they were in than at Po.

"Tigress, listen..." he replied as gently as he could. "Do you really think we could have beaten them in the state we're in?" he reasoned, looking towards her. Tigress, knowing he was right, relaxed a little, releasing some of her rage; after thinking for a moment and appearing conflicted, she then shook her head.

"Don't you remember _why_ we surrendered in the first place, Ti?" Po knew deep down that she already knew the answer.

"Was it really worth it...?" she muttered quietly.

Po sighed before he began solemnly, "Of course it was - it was for Wing Sing, Ti." he stated simply, and Tigress's mouth dropped open hearing this, knowing it was true. She then began to feel guilt for forgetting and being so headstrong earlier. "If we didn't surrender... she would have been killed." Po whispered with sadness in his voice as he hung his head.

"Y-you're right... I-I'm sorry - what was I thinking? How could I have forgotten..."

"It's alright. We did what we had to do." Po stated calmly, his voice soothing and barely above a whisper.

"I just..." the tiger began somberly. "could never bear to watch a child be killed." she admitted as a sad, contorted expression came across her face. Her whiskers drooped along with her ears - an expression that didn't go unnoticed by Po.

"I understand - totally. I've always known that you've had a special love for kids, Ti." Po observed and the tiger smiled faintly.

"But… why is that?" he asked, trying to take her mind further away from present events.

"It's a long story."

"You going anywhere?" he teased, nudging her arm playfully with his elbow.

"Guess not." she answered, half-smiling, and taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Her expression become solemn and conflicted, even with hints of sadness.

"I suppose it's because of the way I grew up in the orphanage. My childhood at Bau Gu left much to be desired - I hated it in fact."

She turned to the side with a frown in an attempt to hide her emotions - something she'd always struggled with. But ever since the panda had joined them at the Jade Palace, she found that expressing her emotions had become somewhat... easier. Po, as caring as he was, listened to every word and urged her to continue - which she did.

"The people of the orphanage were cruel. They would pick on and make fun of me, but that's not the worst part." she stated as her pained expression grew more depressed the more she dug into her memories. "They were afraid of me because of my strength, for I destroyed literally, everything I touched. The overseers weren't of much help either, and even _they_ thought I was a monster." She turned to the side, adjusting the cuffs in front of her and resting her chin on her knees - her expression was one of despair, and she tried her best not to let Po see it.

"Eventually, it got to the point that they…" She had to pause for a brief moment to settle herself. "They tried to _take_ my claws from me, to remove them by force. They failed, but after that day I began to believe everyone was right about me…"

"But you weren't a monster." he smiled, leaning forward a bit to look at her.

The tiger smiled back faintly but her expression from earlier soon returned, "But I was... Sometimes I think I still am..." She then began looking down at the ground by her feet, consumed by emptiness.

"What!?" Po shrieked in disbelief. "Tigress, you are not a monster - nowhere near it! You're insanely awesome - super cool by the way, and an overall very compassionate, kind and caring person from what I've seen. Why would you think you're a monster, Ti?" he asked more concerned after he got off his ramble of how awesome she was.

Tigress found it was hard not to smile at his unique compliments towards her, but ensured he couldn't see her face anymore. She considered ending the conversation there, but once again looking around at their powerless situation, figured she might as well continue.

"...And then at the peak of it - the absolute worst of my days at the orphanage... someone came to me." Her voice once again grew disconsolate; anguish radiated from her as her pain could be felt even by Po.

"It was Shifu, wasn't it?"

"He was the only one who believed in me. He taught me how to control my strength so I could get along with the others - but that didn't solve everything." she said as her voice become unsteady and her striped tail began to move over the ground anxiously.

"The day came when families would come to adopt a child of their own and I can remember all I wanted was to be adopted… to be loved by a real family. However, no one came for me and everyone else was adopted. I was left alone... again."

"But... Shifu came for me, took me home to the Jade Palace and I thought for the first time, I would have a family - a father who would care for me." her face, for a moment, changed into one of a faint smile as she said this, before she frowned once more while gritting her teeth.

"But I was wrong yet again." she said in a darker tone that surprised Po. "Shifu showed me no fatherly affection whatsoever, nor did he treat me as family. All I wanted was to get his approval and for him to be proud of me as his daughter, but he didn't do that! I tried to show him interest in kung fu to gain his approval somehow but instead, he subjected me to harder training!" she said more frustrated and anguished than before as her tail was twitching even more. "That's another reason why I chose to beat my paws for twenty years - I've never known such misery." she clenched her fists together briefly.

"I'm so sorry, Ti-" Po whispered quietly sharing her gloomy expression.

Tigress gently shook her head, "Don't be - It's ok, I guess. All I ever wanted was a family - a father. Was... was..." she said as she was having trouble finishing her sentence and Po could have sworn he saw water begin to form and blur her amber orbs. "...was that so much to ask for?" she said, or rather whispered as she took a shaky breath and quickly batted her eyes to clear them in an attempt to hide her emotions once more, but Po saw. The panda was speechless.

"I had no idea- I just… I never expected-" the panda started at last, but the window she had offered Po into her mind closed as soon as it had opened.

"It's fine, I don't want to discuss such things anymore. It is in the past." she said, returning her focus to the present moment and starting to re-examine the restraints confining her.

Through the moments of silence that followed, Po carefully followed the movements of the bandits in the village around them, still running through buildings and tossing valuables out into the streets. Suddenly, he heard Tigress' voice again.

"Are any of them watching us?"

Po was confused at first, but when he felt additional tension in the ropes around his waist, he realized what was happening.

"No." he answered, looking back to see what the tiger was up to.

Having turned the angle of her restraints, Tigress was using the sharp inside pins of the acupuncture cuffs to steadily cut through the threading of the rope. After much effort, the ropes began to weaken and soon, they snapped entirely, and freeing the two warriors.

Having now been freed, the two fighters sought cover near a burning building. They needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

"Po, we need to remove these cuffs or we won't get far. What's your plan?" Tigress demanded while she scanned the area intently.

"Hmm, well I don't remember which bandit it was who had the key to our cuffs, but we can always improvise!" And with that, Po got up and rushed towards where the Bandits were.

"Ugh that naive idiot is going to get himself killed…" Tigress said to herself as she rushed to catch up with her colleague.

"Hey you muts! You should have finished us off when you had the chance!" Po shouted at the wolf bandits who were in the process of looting a nearby bank.

"Po! What are you doing! We should try to avoid these guys and make it out of here more stealthily!" Tigress argued, but it was no use, for the wolf bandits had heard Po's taunts and had each turned their attention to the two warriors.

"Don't worry Tigress, I have a plan to beat these guys! Just trust me!" Po replied, readying himself for the incoming wolves.

Tigress just sighed at the Panda's antics, 'I swear I will never understand him sometimes…' She thought and then prepared herself to defend against the armed bandits.

The leader of the Bandits took out a dagger from its sheath, "You're right Panda, we should have finished you, but now we'll get an easy second shot!" and then he ordered his comrades to surround the two in a circle.

"Okay Dragon Warrior, what's your plan now?" she asked as the two got back to back preparing to fight the bandits.

"Just watch." He stated simply.

One of the bandits then rushed Po directly, charging at him quickly with a dagger in hand. However, the Wolves soon realized that that they had again underestimated the Panda when Po managed to avoid the bandit's strike to the side and deliver a powerful kick knocking the wolf to the ground.

The other wolves began to growl, and pretty soon Po found himself being charged at by four bandits at a time. It was then that he put his plan into action, seeing that one of the bandits was rushing at him with a stabbing thrust, he acted quickly and brought the cuffs up and intercepted the blade of the Wolf's dagger in the key lock. Po then used the disoriented wolf against his companions, shielding himself against the other rushing bandits as he simultaneously twisted the wolf's dagger in a pattern that managed to pick the lock on his cuffs and freed his hands.

Tigress watched as Po was now free, 'I can't believe that plan worked…' She thought as she shook her head. A group of bandits then rushed her as well, each coming at her from every angle. But she was prepared for them, and at the last second she jumped high up to avoid them. As a result of their momentum, they all crashed into one another and fell to the ground. She then met up with Po who had now defeated the four bandits,

"Now what? There are still more than a dozen Bandits raiding the village and I doubt we can take them all on at once." She asked, having met up with her teammate.

"Honestly I didn't think we'd make it this far…" He answered as he picked up one of the fallen bandits' daggers. He then picked the lock on her cuffs and managed free her paws as well.

"Po! We have to get a plan for escaping this village or we'll never be able to catch up to the four!" Tigress ranted.

"Not before we ensure the safety of all the citizens. Okay, here's the plan, stay low and search for survivors. If you find any survivors take them outside of the village towards the river." Po stated as he began to run over to another group of bandits.

"What will you do?" She asked.

"I'm going to find Sing, we promised her and her mother that we'd protect them." He answered nobly as he rushed off to fight off the Bandits.

As Po approached the group of bandits, he began to hear screams of fear coming from inside one of the buildings. He also saw that the bandits were attempting to knock down the door to the building. He knew that the screams had to be made by citizens, so he got the criminals' attention to get them away from the house. "Enemies of China! Prepare to feel the thundery palm of justice!"

The bandits looked over each with flabbergasted expressions, the leader whom Po had seen earlier taking Sing hostage was with them. "You! How did you break free!?"

Po smiled and replied, "Your second mistake was taking your attention off of us!" Getting into a fighting stance and waiting for the Bandits to make the first move.

The Bandit leader then raised a brow and asked in an irritated tone, "Second mistake? and what do you suppose our first mistake was you ignorant Panda!?"

"Taking the girl hostage was your first mistake. And as for your third mistake…" Po says before preparing to take them all on.

And then, he charges the bandits all on simultaneously, using all of his training to be able to hold his own against the near a dozen bandits. He almost looked like a blur as he managed to repel the attacks from the bandits as well as knock a couple of them out at the same time. The bandits were ruthless, but so was he, and before long, the numbers of his enemies began to dwindle. The bandits that still stood were now much wearier.

They all backed off as they feared the panda whom they had greatly underestimated. He then continued where he had left off before, "And your third mistake was picking a fight with the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress!" And then, he took down the three bandits before he noticed the leader now fleeing the scene.

"Oh no you don't!" Po thought to himself. He then gave chase after the bandit, but try as he may, was unable to catch up due to his reduced stamina. The bandit was just about to get away, but before he could escape, someone ran up with incredible speed on Po's left side and managed to land a kick on the fleeing brigand. It was Tigress, and as Po caught up to her, he asked between gasps, "Tigress!? ... I thought I told you to... look for survivors!"

She smiled and answered, "I did. While you were busy attracting the attention of every bandit in the village, I led all the remaining citizens to the forest. And it seemed you needed my help anyways."

Po raised a brow, "What are you saying!? I totally had him!" Po replied as he threw his hands up in self-defense.

"Uh huh...Of course you did." she answered with a knowing smile.

"Hey look, the lady hit me first-" the bandit said before he was knocked unconscious by Tigress.

Po smiled to himself but then realized something, "Wait! There were citizens trapped in that house!" And he darted off in the direction of the house.

Po arrived at the house not a moment too soon, the door was still shut, and it had taken quite a beating having been rammed by the bandits. Po put his ear against the door and heard the faint breaths from inside, he knew there had to be two citizens inside who were trying to keep a low profile. Po knocked on the door and said, "It's okay, you can come out now."

When there was no response he spoke again, "It's okay, it's the Dragon Warrior, the threat to the village is gone now, you can come out now." At this, there was a locking sound as the door opened slightly. An eye peeked out through the crack, and inspected the Panda. When they realized there was no threat, the door was opened, and Po found his legs being hugged by the same small bunny girl whom he had met earlier.

"Thank you for rescuing us Dragon Warrior!" she thanked him while clinging to his leg.

Po smiled and looked to the girl's mother smiling; he saw her mouth the words "thank you" to which he nodded.

But unfortunately this heartfelt moment could not last forever, so Po knelt down and addressed the little girl, "Sing, thank you for being so brave throughout this, but now you and your mother need to flee to the woods where Master Tigress has evacuated the rest of the villagers."

Sing released Po and nodded, her mother did the same, and with that, they both fled towards the forest.

Po then did one last quick check around the village to ensure there were no more citizens, when he finished, he was met up by Tigress who asked, "Are you finally done here? Or can we get back to tracking down our captured teammates?"

He nodded and was about to reply before he heard an oncoming noise from outside the edge of the village. Tigress looked over and immediately said, "More bandits, we can't afford to waste any more time here Po, we have to go!" She then took the Panda's paw and dragged him along as the two made their way out of the pillaged town.

 **That's it for now guys! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but here ya go! Thanks again to Dragon Chronicle for editing this and even though dragon won't beta read for anyone anymore, I just want to say thank you so much for helping us! You have been a big help and your edits and tips have helped our stories and improved our skills in more ways than one. Your story is amazing and if y'all haven't already, please check out his story on FFN: Winds of change. I hope to hear back from ya soon Dragon I know you've been busy and I apologize for any worried msgs I may have sent :p Anyway,** **moving onto the story - so far, the Masters finally got a lead on where their friends have been taken. Will they find them in time? Or has this mysterious villian outsmarted our heroes for good? Find out in chaoter 8!**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	8. Drained

**Hello peeps, welcome to the next chapter! I know it's been a while I'm sorry about that but here's an update!** **This chapter is going to be a little longer than most, so prepare for that. So** **much has been going on with me and I haven't been able to write much but I'm going to try to do some more frequent updates. Depression, anxiety, work ect all been hitting me at once. But anyway, this story is going to be a mind battle with Po due to his past and current struggles. It seems Tigress has her own pains and emotional trauma that still haunt her; will she ever find comfort and peace even with all that has happened to her? Keep reading to find out! Luckily, a certain ever-caring panda is there to help her with her troubles. Also in a few more chapters the villians identity** **will be revealed so be patient!**

 **_**

 **Speaking of the villian, I would like to** **point out who the voice actor is for this OC so y'all know what he sounds like** **:)** **Look up a youtube video of the specified role mentioned to hear their voice.**

 **In the villian's first appearance, when he spoke to Po and the others, he is using a voice disguiser mask that wraps around his muzzle, so there will be two voice actors here** **\- normal and disguised.**

 **(Disguised voice - first appearance) Mysterious, cloaked figure is voiced by:** **_Tobin Bell_ a.k.a the voice of Alchemy/Savitar on the CW Flash** **season 3**. **Or some of you may recognize him as jigsaw in the Saw franchise** **but his voice is more like that of Savitar.**

 **(Normal** **voice - beginning of second chapter) The unknown figure is voiced by: _Teddy Sears_ \- otherwise known for his roll as Hunter Zolomon in the same CW show.**

 **_**

 **Anyway, moving onto this chapter**. **The two masters have finally escaped and are currently tracking down the army but will they catch up? Will Po ever learn to heal with his chi or will their injuries become progressively worse the more they push on? Find out in the rest of the story...**

It had been a few hours since the two masters had left the village, and evacuated the villagers. The villagers were now safe from the bandits as they had relocated to a neighboring village a few miles east. Little Wing Sing and her mother were elated that the Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress had helped them. Wing Sing was especially excited she met her hero, and was mentally counting down the days until she would meet Tigress again, as promised.

The two warriors were now making their way down a muddy road towards the direction of the army - sore and wounded but very much alive. While the Dragon Warrior and the tiger master walked, they soon broke the silence and began to converse once again. This time, Tigress was starting the conversation.

"Ya know... that was really brave of you what you did back in the village, Po... and stupid." the tiger spoke up calmly to her panda friend before punching his arm rather hard but in a playful manner.

"Owwwhohoho!" Po shouted in pain rubbing his arm. This was the same arm that was wounded by the elites a few days ago and the playful punch the tiger gave him wasn't helping matters. He gave her a questioning look that said, 'what was that for?' however, the tiger just continued as sincerely as she could manage.

"But going back to find Wing Sing and her mother just to make sure they were safe - that took guts." the tiger complimented with a warm smile causing Po to elicit one of his own, quickly replacing the pained expression on his face. He also instantly remembered a similar compliment she gave him back in Gongmen City.

"Well ya know..." he replied nonchalantly at her comment, trying to play it cool. "I'm just doing my Dragon Warrior duties." he shrugged before punching the air dramatically.

Tigress, however, decided to keep the conversation going this time - she then shook her head, "No, Po. What you did, _you_ did out of the kindness of your heart. You went back even though you could have got hurt or worse... killed." she concluded as her facial expression grew disconsolate at the last thing she said.

Po smiled sadly seeing this and placed a paw on her back, "I know, Ti - sorry I worried you so much." he teased but deep down he could see that she really did care.

Tigress chuckled and shook her head, "You always worry me, Po."

Po smiled at her briefly, before continuing, rubbing the back of his head, "Yeah but I had to go back to make sure Wing Sing and her mother were safe. I couldn't watch them be killed either."

The tigers mouth dropped open a bit at this before he continued.

"...I care about her too, Ti."

Her mouth slowly closed before her lips then formed into a smile. The two locked eyes for a bit - smiling before the tiger then cleared her throat and began to look down at the map again in her paws.

"We should keep following this road for a few more miles. We'll get some more water at the nearest village." Tigress said with her normal expression and tone of voice returning.

Po nodded in understanding but noticed something else. The panda knew she was hardcore and could deal with a lot of pain, as tough as she was, but he couldn't help but notice the way she was limping. She held her paw on her shoulder blade - the same one that was giving her trouble before, and judging by the expression on her face it was an indicator it still was the case. The panda then decided to speak up after a few moments.

"Hey Tigress?"

"Hmm?"

"I know we have a long way to go before we catch up to everyone but... how about we stop and I can... ya know... change your bandages?" Po suggest sheepishly not to knowing what her response would be.

The tiger thought for a minute about the idea and seeing that she would have trouble doing it herself in her current state, it would be nice to have someone to help change them. She took a few more moments in thought before she then smiled.

"Sure, Po. I would very much appreciate that." she said gently as her tail perked up off the ground a little.

"Thanks. I knew your right shoulder was giving you trouble from earlier sooo I thought it would be best to change them."

"Indeed it was. You're very thoughtful." she smiled again taking a little drink of water from the canteen which was nearly empty.

After quite some time trying to find a place to stop and tend to their wounds, the two spotted what looked like the opening of a cave among a densely, rocky area on the side of the road. The masters couldn't help but smile at this, happy to find a place to rest for a while and possibly find more water. Po and Tigress were now beginning to run low on supplies - water mostly, and Tigress gave Po the last drink of water over twenty minutes ago.

"How about... here?" the panda whispered looking at the tiger beside him.

Tigress looked at him and nodded with a content, relieved smile. Happy to finally find a place of refuge for a while, the two masters then walked over to the cave and made their way inside. Upon entering the cave, they couldn't see anything for the cave was pitch black. However, once inside - towards the back of the cave, Po and Tigress saw a glowing, bluish light begin to appear on the farther end and they decided to follow the direction of hue that plastered the walls.

The eerie silence was unnerving as they ventured further through the carved out walls and as they walked they looked up above them and saw the source of the glow. Above them, were small, glowing blue crystals embedded in the rock, completely scattered across the rocky roof.

"Wow." Po whispered in awe of the crystal's beauty as they shimmered around them.

It truly was a beautiful sight to behold; Po and Tigress looked at each other for a moment, briefly.

"It's beautiful, Po." Tigress stated in a very relaxed tone that surprised Po a little. He knew that she admired things like this on the side, but to see her like this, brought a smile to his face, despite their circumstances.

Po nodded, still smiling, before the two then made their way towards the back of the cave. Upon entering, they stepped into a larger area, more carved out than the rest of the cave and in the center of it, they spotted two large rectangular-shaped stone boxes which sat right beside each other. Confused, the two masters then made their way towards the two large objects to inspect them. Tigress then knelt down and read inscription that was carved on the side of the first stone container. She then rose to her feet with a solemn look on her face, a sentiment that was soon shared by Po, as they were beginning to realize what this place was.

"Po... this isn't just a cave. It's a-"

"Tomb." Po finished quietly to which Tigress nodded.

After a few unnerving moments, the tiger spoke up and took a twig lying on the ground, for a pointer and pointed to some more carvings on the side of the stone box.

"I recognize the inscriptions on the sarcophagus - it tells their story." Tigress said with a thoughtful expression before Po then cut in.

"Oooh, I love stories - this is going to be awesome! Are you going to read it?" The panda asked excitedly and Tigress held up her paw to silence him.

The tigers ear twitched in annoyance. "Quiet, Po - I'm getting there." Tigress said half sternly before she returned her attention to the stone box.

"Oh, sorry." Po replied, knowing to shut his mouth and let the tiger speak.

The female tiger then continued, pointing the stick at the engravings on the large slab of rock and she began to tell its story.

"It tells the story of two ancient lovers, a male - Lóng, and a female - fèng. The pair were completely inseparable and what had started out as a friendship, blossomed into a deep, eternal love, but there was one problem..."

"What happened?" Po whispered as his facial expression went from elated to disconsolate.

The story seemed to have an effect on the tiger, provoking her thoughts. Tigress felt a little strange when reading about this kind of topic, but as she looked from Po back to the engravings, she found that the place she had stopped appeared to be the end. Her amber glowing orbs searched the stone slab for some time but came up empty.

"I don't know. It just stopped there..." she mused quietly trying to figure out where the rest of the story could be.

"Aw, man!" the panda whined in frustration. "I really wanted to hear the rest of that story - it was so awesome too!" he slumped, leaning onto a rock embedded into wall of the cave. However, as he did so, the rock sank into the wall and the panda stumbled, momentarily frightened.

"Ahh! Whoa, what was that?"

As the rock sank into the rocky wall and the panda stood upright, beneath the stone sarcophaguses, a trap door opened on the side revealing a few scrolls.

Tigress immediately got down on a knee and after inspecting the scrolls a bit, she concluded that they were in fact the rest of the story. She stood up and smiled at the panda knowingly.

"Good work, Dragon Warrior. It appears your clumsiness has been proven useful." Tigress joked lightly chuckling a bit before groaning, remembering the pain in her shoulder blade.

Po laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, finally."

Tigress soon returned her attention to the scrolls in her paws and Po then stood behind the tiger, peering over her shoulder to get a better look at the scroll while she read.

"The Mongols. A fearsome, and barbaric tribe raided their village and slaughtered hundreds. They knew no mercy as many innocents fell by blade or were struck down by archers. However, the pair survived but their families were separated..." Tigress's face grew crestfallen as she read as did Po, who had a face of pure horror behind her.

"Another problem arose for the lover's when their parents forbade them from seeing each other. But their love was strong, even as strong as ironwood."

Tigress paused at the last line remembering her training with the ironwood trees. She recalled all the times she broke her paws conditioning them, before she finally felt nothing. Tigress shook her head at the memory and continued.

"They persevered and came out late at night to meet in secret. This place was where they came and met the most - to express their undying love for each other, totally alone, far away from any persecution. They were truly meant to be by each other's sides, forever - inseparable like yin and yang." Tigress paused for a bit to collect her thoughts after reading what she did.

Po, on the other paw, was in total awe and nearly in tears as soft-hearted as the panda was, this really spoke to him and touched his heart.

"That was beautiful..." he sniffed wiping the water from his eyes. "It was tragic all of that happened to them and all but that's the best love story I've ever heard!" he sobbed briefly before composing himself.

Tigress however just gave a subtle eye roll at this but she smiled nevertheless for the story was rather touching so it explained the panda's actions.

"Apologies. I'm not really experienced in this sort of thing called... love." Tigress confessed quietly as this topic seemed to be touchy for her.

Po smiled at the female tiger. "I understand - completely. I'm sure you'll figure it out one day." Po replied lightly punching her arm before he began to stir his foot into the ground awkwardly.

After a few moments of silence the panda spoke up again. "So uhh... what do we do now?"

Tigress appeared to be lost in her thoughts for a moment before her ear twitched, hearing something.

"We go find water and bandage our wounds." she stated as her normal expression returned. "I think I hear water towards the back of the cave - let's go."

Po nodded, "Yeah, we should get going."

The two masters then proceeded to make their way towards the back of the cave. The blue crystals above them lit up the stone hallway as they reached a larger, arched entrance. Opon entering, they saw a large pool of water in the center, and two opposite streams of water flowing into it from an unseen source.

The two were elated and relieved at the sight and immediately ran over towards the edge of the pool. After kneeling down in front of it, they took out their canteens and a few jugs and began to replenish their water supply. After drinking some for themselves to quench their thirst, the two masters looked at each other in relief while panting. The water was cool and refreshing and strengthened them much.

"This... was an excellent choice, Po."

"Thanks. I thought this place would be useful somehow." he smiled knowingly before Tigress then looked down at the water seeing her reflection.

The female warrior began to notice her ruffled up and knotted orange fur in the water's reflection. They had been traveling for days now and after several fights and almost bleeding out, the tiger's fur could use some grooming. Cleansing was another matter, but as she began to rake her claws through her unruly fur, Tigress noticed movement in the water. She gasped slightly as she knew what it was.

"Uh, Po?" she whispered quietly looking up at him as he was unpacking some fresh bandages and some sake.

"Hmm?" he stopped what he was doing, meeting her gaze.

"There's fish in this water. If we catch some, we could have something to eat." she suggested.

Po's face lit up excitedly. "Really? Oh, my gosh that sounds awesome! And besides I'm REALLY starving right now!" the panda stated rubbing his white plushy belly.

Tigress chuckled, "Of course you are." she teased momentarily.

Tigress then looked back down at the waters surface and into the pool, searching intently for any signs of the fish that she saw before. Before too long, she then spotted a medium-sized fish and raising a paw above her head, she carefully aimed and prepared to strike. Po watched in awe and in anticipation.

 _Splash!_

At lightning speed, she dove her paw into the water, claws extended, and latched onto the fishes body, her claws dug deep inside of the fish before pulling it out and laying on a small stone slab. The startled fish flopped and jerked on the rock before it soon became still.

Po clapped, "Whoa that was so fast - good job, Ti."

The female tiger smiled slightly, before she returned her attention to the water and caught a few more, doing the same. Po then tried his luck at catching the water creatures but he failed to catch one due to not having sharp claws like Tigress, so he only made a big splash in the water.

"Ughhh! Why is this so hard!?" the panda groaned feeling frustrated.

"Fishing takes skill, precision, and speed. And sharp claws as well, but you seem to be lacking the latter." she stated simply with an amused look on her face.

"Yeah." Po said and simply nodded in solemn agreement and let her continue to fish.

After some time, she caught a few more and set them aside to be cooked. Both of them were very hungry and their stomachs growling was evidenced by this. Po then pulled out the flint rocks from the pack he sat down, while Tigress set up a small pile of kindling, shaping it into a cone, before motioning for Po to light it.

Po then poured a little bit of sake on an area of the twigs and struck the rocks together, creating a spark, which set the kindling on fire rather quickly. Once the fire began to crackle and burn, Tigress then skewered a few fish on a sharpened end of a stick and Po did the same, placing them over the fire to let them cook. After setting them into the ground a bit to further cook, Po assembled the medical supplies they had packed and arranged them near his right leg.

He then gave the tiger a concerned look seeing her haunch over from the throbbing pain in her body - seeing her in such pain grieved him much.

"Would you like me to take a look now?" he said as worry began to take over his features.

The female tiger looked towards him and nodded, her face trying to hide the pain she was feeling in her body. No doubt, she was tough as ironwood and hardcore, but she realized this was necessary.

Tigress then went over to Po and sat down in front of him with her back turned towards him. She then began to unbutton her jade, green vest - undoing each clasp that held it together, before sliding it off her shoulders, bringing it down to her lower back, carefully - fully exposing her striped back.

Po's mouth dropped open slightly, letting out a small gasp at the sight before him. His eyes took in the sight of Tigress's elegant stripes and orange fur in awe, before the female tiger spoke up, wondering why he was hesitant.

"Uhhh, is everything okay back there, Po? Please try to hurry."

The panda instantly snapped out of it, startled, hearing her voice. He was so enraptured by the sight of her stripes, that he apparently forgot about the task at hand.

"Oh! Y-yeah let me check..." Po nervously replied as he looked to where her wound was on her back.

He unraveled the now crimson bandage that covered her shoulder blade, which was slashed by the saber and he inspected the area. A disconsolate expression came over Po's face as he looked at the wound, which was bruised around the gash and the gash itself appeared to show some early signs of infection.

"How is it?"

The fur around it was stained with blood and no doubt she was experiencing excruciating pain. The panda took a breath and tried to respond but his heart sank.

"It's not good Tigress..." he managed to whisper sadly, as his face grew more worried and depressed.

"I figured. Is it infected?"

The panda nodded looking over her shoulder at her.

"It starting to be."

Tigress nodded in acknowledgment as she grew deep in her thoughts. Po, knowing the clean wound, then took the sake in his paw and began to pour some directly onto the bleeding gash. The tiger instantly flinched and growled in pain momentarily from this as the sake soaked her wound and the fur surrounding it.

"I'm so sorry Ti! I know this hurts but I just can't watch you die from this." The panda said frantically worried seeing her in such pain. A few tears threathened to well up in his eyes.

Tigress grit her teeth, breathing heavily, before she tried her best to smile hearing his concern for her.

"I-it's ok, Po - don't worry so much. I know you care but I'm not gonna die." she said as gently as she could manage.

"You sure?"

The tiger turned around a little and placed a paw on his arm and nodded softly with a reassuring look. Po relaxed after this and managed to smile a bit before making his way in front of her to tend to her other injuries. A few minutes later, he completed the agonizing process of changing and bandaging her other wounds on her abdomen and leg.

"Thanks, Po - I really appreciate it." she smiled feintly and tried to stand.

Po instantly came to her side to stop her "You're welcome Ti. And easy there, just rest a little. The fish is almost done."

Tigress nodded and sat down as Po went to check on the fish. The roasted fish that was cooking over the fire certainly smelled good and that only enticed their hunger more. After some inspection, Po took the sticks the fish were skewered on and brought two over to where Tigress was sitting and handed her one.

"Are they done?"

Tigress took the fish, broke it in half and after looking on the inside, she nodded her head. The fish was definitely hot from being over the fire but due to Tigress's ironwood tree training, her paws didn't register pain. Po was in total awe at this as usual. the tiger just shook her head in amusement and began to scale the fish before taking a bite. Po, on the other hand, was not having a good time trying to handle the roasted fish.

"Ow ow OWW!" he yelped as the fish was starting to burn is paw pads. He then looked over at Tigress who was enjoying her fish and he gave her a pleading look.

Tigress simply shook her head, with a slight chuckle, took the fish, broke in half, and begin to scale it for him and after doing so, she handed it back and the panda happily began to eat it. Soon, the two ate all the fish the Tigress caught, before standing up to leave and to continue their journey.

After putting the fire out, Po helped Tigress stand to her feet and they began to go back the way they came in, to exit the cave after packing up their replenished supplies. They followed the blue, glowing crystals on the ceiling, which gave off a peaceful atmosphere, as they passed the stone sarcophaguses of the ancient lovers and made their way outside the cave.

"Ahhh, fresh air!" Po exclaimed dramatically, running out of the cave with Tigress making her way out behind him, limping. "Looks like we made it out alive, buddy."

Tigress scoffed and shook her head, "Yeah because that was such a _dangerous_ adventure in that cave." The tiger replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes but soon smiling a bit. "Didn't think we'd make it out dead, Po." she joked and Po laughed heartily.

"Heh, good point. Shall we go?"

"Certainly." she replied stoicly as she picked up her pack and the two warriors set out once more on the dirt path before them.

The sun was now beginning to set over the horizon, turning the clouds and sky above them to vibrant colors of red, orange, and yellow. It was a beautiful sight, but the two masters pushed on into the direction of the near army, as the once-humid air around them began to cool, providing the panda and tiger duo much relief. The two warriors didn't know what was ahead of them or what dangers inevitably laid ahead, but they knew they at least had each other... at least for now.

 **Wooooooohoooo, that's the end of chapter 8!!! Finally finished this chapter after sooo long. I'm terribly sorry about that guys I've been really busy for the past few months and only had a few moments to write when I forced myself. Between changing jobs and other things. Anyway, I've been getting some really good ideas for the story and I think I know how I'm going to finish it up! It's going to be good that's all I can tell you. I apologise if this chapter seemed a bit boring but in the next few, however, a lot of things will be going down for sure for our heroes.**

 **\- Now there are a few things I'd like to address here. One is brought up quite frequently and that is if I'm going to do TiPo in this story or not. Now... I know that's what my name is on here but that doesn't mean they'll be together in every fic I write. Heck, I've even wrote fics on here that are not even about Kung Fu Panda! (Flash/Arrow mostly) So it's really open to anything.**

 **\- Also, there are a few references in here that some of you may or might not catch, but I just saw them as necessary for the feel of this story hehe. The dragon and the Phoenix was something I really wanted to do in this and thanks to my mums idea i was able to do it. The villain will be revealed in just a few more chapters and his past is rather dark. I'll go into that later. Anyway, I now have someone who was kind enough to helo me edit my stories and that is my step mum, who is pretty good at grammar; so the next edit to this chapter will be the cleaned up one. Hope you cool cats enjoyed this update, drop me some feedback in the reviews and the Crucible will continue 100% and I even have plans for a sequel! So stay tuned!**

 **\- Tipofan4life**


	9. Strange Chi

**Hey guys welcome to the next chapter! I'm still trying to get the character's right in this making sure it's not too far out of their range. Also prepare for the return of a beloved character from Kung Fu Panda 2 - I won't spoil it but they will be here very soon! Po and Tigress have their supplies replenished but for how long? Find out! Also thanks for the reviews guys I do appreciate them when you drop em it helps me out quite a bit and do follow the story if you like the progress! Anyway, without further hesitation from me, the rest of this story!**

* * *

The sky was turning a beautiful, fiery orange as it was almost dusk, while the two masters made their way along the dirt road. They had been traveling for nearly a week and the two were still quite far from their destination of Nanjing. Now, Po and Tigress had left the region of Xinyu and were approaching Nanchang, which bordered a large body of water, in the cool of the afternoon.

As they traveled along the dirt road the surroundings on the side began to change as bamboo trees and other plantation were now visible along with some large bolders. Po and Tigress were carrying on their usual conversations to pass the time when all of a sudden, Tigress's acute sense of hearing picked up on some rustling among the trees. Her ear twitched slightly before the tiger saw something out of the corner of her eye.

"Po, stop... wait." she said firmly as the two then came to a stop while her amber eyes searched the plantation, and large rocks for any signs of movement she saw before.

"What is it, Tigress?" he whispered quietly, knowing she was sensing that something was up.

"Shhh! I don't know but I..."

The tiger's amber irises widened when she realized that it was an ambush. Several bandits then jumped out from behind the bolders and trees and stood in front of the two warriors. There were about six bandits in all that consisted of leopards, boars, and a few wolves - all armed with daggers, short sabers, and hammers. The unruly collection of bandits appeared desperate and wore a smug expression on their face as they eyed the two masters.

Po and Tigress instantly dropped their packs and got in their stances ready for the attack.

"Looks like you got all your valuables with you like you knew we were gonna rob you!" the one boar said who was apparently their leader and Tigress growled under her breath ready to strike.

Po, on the other paw, exhausted as he was, adjusted his stance, "If you want them, come and get them!" he said dramatically ready for a good fight, despite his state.

The bandits then charged them with weapons in paw, running straight at the masters. The first one came directly at Po, screaming with a large hammer over his head. The panda reacted quickly, and threw a straight side kick directly into the bandits stomach, knocking him several feet back, and taking out the adjacent bandit behind him.

"Yahaaaa!"

Meanwhile, Tigress was fighting two leopard bandits while the others were waiting for the right time to jump in. The first leopard swung his saber directly at Tigress's head but she instantly and painfully weaved under the blade before precisely thrusting her double palm strike into his solar plexus, sending him flying back into a tree out cold.

The next bandit tried to stab her with his dagger but failed when she captured it, twisted his wrist to dislodge it, causing him to groan in pain before she struck his face with a ridge hand, and kicked his feet out from under him. As more bandits came at them, Tigress could feel the intense rush of pain all over her body but the tiger did her best to ignore it. After Po finished off two more bandits with a split kick, he noticed the tiger struggling after she kicked down one leopard with a sharp crescent kick.

"Tigress! You okay, buddy?" he said in a worried tone as she stood up, shaking a little.

The tiger nodded, "I'm fine - there's more." she growled quietly getting back into her stance.

Just then, three more bandits came at them, two at the masters and another one went towards their packs of supplies. The pain in Tigress's leg was excruciating but she fought through it as she took out the bandit coming towards her with a spinning tornado kick, dropping the boar instantly. Po finished off the leopard with his famous belly butt, but the masters were too distracted to notice a wolf bandit had snatched their supplies.

Tigress noticed and growled trying to claw at him but he was already running away. "No! W-we need our supplies!" she said desperately.

"Tigress, I can get him - throw me at him just like back in Gongmen City!" Po suggested and she nodded agreeing to his plan.

Tigress grabbed his paw, and swung him around her a few times, throwing the panda into the air, before running some ten feet back for distance. Po positioned himself and Tigress ran at him speedily on all fours, as Po came down, thrusting her signature double palm strike into his butt, the impact of which, sending him flying at enhanced speed, towards the escaping wolf.

"Wohoooooo yeah!" Po yelled excitedly as he flew at the wolf with his fist extended, closing the distance. "Get ready to feel the fist of JUSTICE!"

The wolf turned around to see the panda flying towards him and he gulped. Before he could get out of the way, the panda slammed into the canine, his fist colliding with his right jaw, knocking him some twenty-five feet back, leaving their stolen supplies behind.

Po landed chuckling a little, "Hehehe yeahhhh! That was awesome!" he rejoiced but it was short-lived as he heard a groan behind him, before looking to the side to see Tigress had landed on her face after the hit. Due to her weakened state, she wasn't able to do her usual graceful backflip to stand upright, so she had collapsed on the ground afterwards.

Po gasped, "Tigress!" he instantly ran back over towards his fallen feline friend on the ground.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry!" he said having now noticed she had fallen face down.

Once he came to her side he held her right paw, and began to help her up off the ground. She groaned slightly in pain but kept her paw locked with his for support.

"It's ok, Po. Thanks - much appreciated." she muttered quietly, now on her feet once more.

"Anytime. Now do you feel okay?" he asked concerned about her injuries, as he could see taking even the smallest of steps caused extreme pain for the tiger warrior.

"I... don't know." she grunted a bit as she limped forward with a painful jolt trying to adjust herself. "I don't think any of the wounds re-opened but walking is certainly going to be more of a chore - ah!" she grit her teeth momentarily as Po just looked at her worriedly.

Now, with their supply packs in paw, Po stood in front of her as an idea came to his mind, "I have an idea that can help..." he said sheepishly not knowing how she would respond to it and the tiger looked at him curiously.

"Oh... what would that be?" her tail curled up behind her a bit.

"How about I... well ah... carry you?" he said nervously rubbing the back of his head, as he felt odd asking this.

Tigress blinked, feeling heat rush to her cheeks, "Come again?..."

"Well ya know, I can carry you a little so you don't have to strain your injuries anymore - especially your leg." he pointed out a bit shyly before his tone changed. "Please... I just can't stand to watch you walk in pain like that anymore, Tigress!" he exclaimed with worry and she could feel the anxiety deep in his voice.

"But we need to keep-"

Tigress sighed and could see that he truly cared about her well-being. She took a moment after stopping herself in thought to consider such a request, as this seemed a bit strange. It was certainly odd, and as she pondered this, Tigress wasn't sure if it was befitting of a warrior to be carried when they could just walk. However, the state of her severe injuries said otherwise might be needed. Tigress trained her entire life to endure extreme pain and she had been through a great deal of it - physically and mentally but was this injury her limit?

Tigress then shook her head, "Thank you for the offer, Po. I appreciate that you care - really I do. But I'll have to decline for now; I think I can make it a little more further." she assured him gently to ease the worry the giant panda was no doubt feeling, for she could see it in his jade eyes.

Po slumped sadly but understood, "You sure?"

Tigress nodded, "Maybe another time but we should keep going." she said as her normal tone of voice returned. "We need to hurry up and find the others. We've lost a lot of time already." she said assertively, knowing that the mysterious figure was most likely near Nanjing already with the others.

Po nodded in agreement and after picking up their packs they began to resume walking back in the direction they were going. As they started walking, Po stayed close by her side to support her if she stumbled and as they made their way down the road, Po thought of something. Tigress was looking down at the map which showed them crossing Nanchang.

"Ti... I know what you said back in the village but... I been thinking..."

"Yeah?" she said causally as she took a drink of water.

"If you ever wanna talk about anything that happened in your past, or anything that might be on your heart... I'm always here." he smiled sincerely placing a paw on her back while they walked.

Tigress slightly smiled a bit and Po removed his paw, "Thanks - that helps but..." she said before her expression then became conflicted. "There's a _reason_ why I don't like going into these kinds of things. I didn't want to get into it anymore before then because sometimes, honestly... it's too painful." she stated as a solemn expression came over her face while they walked.

Po frowned sharing her despair, "I understand that all too well but... it's okay to feel, Tigress. Even if you are hardcore warrior." the plushy panda spoke ever so caringly.

The tiger master understood that he had his own tragic memories but feeling and emotions was something she struggled with the most, "It's easier said then done... I'll think about it. It won't be easy..."

"It never is." he smiled sadly.

After a short pause she looked at him, "Much obliged, Po. Now let's keep moving quickly."

Po nodded with a warm smile as they continued down the road. He carried both of their packs this time to take some weight off her shoulders, and to help her walk if needed. Now the panda's eyes soon began to search the side of the road for anything to aid her walk.

"I need to make you a cane soon." he said searching intently, scanning the plantation for a wooden staff of some sort for her to lean on.

"That would certainly help."

After several minutes, coming up empty, Po remembered he had packed his bo staff on the side of his bag before they left the valley.

"Ooooh! I got it!" he exclaimed excitedly, momentarily startling the tiger causing her striped tail to flicker from side to side for a bit.

"What are you going on about?" Tigress asked him curiously but more so, confused.

Po then stopped, removed his bag and sure enough, his bo staff was strapped on the right side. The happy panda removed it and when Tigress saw this, she knew where he was going with this. Po then turned and handed the female tiger his staff with a smile.

"I forgot you even had that." she chuckled taking it in her right paw, holding it towards the top - leaning on it as the end was now on the ground.

"Does it work alright?" he cocked his head to one side.

Tigress nodded, "It does. Thanks, Po."

"Anytime, buddy. Now let's go!" he stated dramatically as they took off once again with Tigress shaking her head, amused by his enthusiasm. Now the master's were steadfast towards their destination, mentally preparing themselves for the evil that was to come.

* * *

About a hundred miles away, between the cities of Huangshi and Wuhu, a small battalion of the dark figure's army, held two certain masters captive while the others were in a separate location. It was masters Crane and Monkey, who were bound in chains and accupressure cuffs that even _they_ could not escape. They are accompanied by two of unknown figures bodyguards and a few others, ensuring that they would not escape... again.

Not only were the two masters sore from battle but they were injured also - Crane's wing had been snapped by one of the assassins so that he wouldn't be able to fly away and escape again. Monkey sustained a dislocated shoulder when he made a rather foolish decision to take a swing at one of them. While they limped along, the avian and the primate conversed with one another while the dark, robed assassins walked ahead of them a ways, holding their chains.

"Do you think Po and Tigress made it out alive?" Monkey inquired of Crane quietly.

"I don't know either - I have my hopes that they may have but the others - I can't say."

Monkey slumped, "Shoot. Do you have any more plans?"

Crane shrugged, "I'm working on one but considering our last attempt didn't go so well, I'm running out of options at this point." he stated gravely before turning to his side, plucking out a feather from his shoulder with his beak, and letting it go behind him.

"Oh. What are you doing?"

The avian smirked slightly, "I'm leaving them a trail to follow so Po and Tigress can catch up with us." he remarked, thus explaining why he was removing feathers for a few days now.

Monkey, however, got a little too excited, "Oooh! That's perfect! Now they'll be able to find us and we can finally escape!"

"Shhh!" Crane shushed Monkey who instantly shut his mouth but it was too late. The dark, Arabian assassin in front of them heard.

The guard instantly stopped and turned around sharply. A cloth covered most of his face except his eyes and the two could see a menacing look in his gaze.

"Harab? 'ahmaq jahl!" he stated in a foreign tongue and a sinister tone that sent chills down the masters spines.

"Escape? Clueless fool!" the soulless warrior interpreted before he continued. "Your attempts of escape will be futile as before. The Master still wants you alive but your fate afterwards... is _still to be decided._ " he concluded saying the last part slowly in a dark, ominous manner.

Monkey was shaking, as was Crane, both unnerved at this point not knowing what was about to happen. Before Monkey could react, the assassin swiftly did a three-sixty spin, coming back around with a hook kick to the pimate's right jaw. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground, hitting a rock on the left side his side of his jaw when he fell, groaning in excruciating pain. Monkey was holding his now, broken jaw while struggling to stand back up.

"Monkey!" Crane shouted seeing his friend go down with such a strike.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tigress and Po were making their way around the large body of water that boardered Nanchang. The air was cool, and crisp while the sun was setting ahead of them when suddenly, Tigress's keen eyesight and senses caught five figures moving quickly around the trees surrounding them. The tiger groaned knowing it was more troublesome bandits.

"Po, get ready - we got company." she said quietly and the panda sighed.

"Again!?"

The tiger warrior nodded, looking at him as he put down their packs ready to fight once again. Tigress stood still, quietly listening for their movements when suddenly, the bandits jumped out from behind the trees, charging them all at once from all directions.

"We'll be taking your things now; you're no match for us!" one boar bandit stated charging at Po.

"I don't think you runts will be taking anything." Tigress stated firmly getting in her stance.

Po quickly kneed the charging boar, dropping him instantly, before he spun around, blocked a club swung at his head and knocked out the leopard with a sharp backfist. After Po finished these two and one more; he turned around to see Tigress was struggling with the three other bandits. At first she was doing well, but soon she began to falter and make costly mistakes she normally wouldn't have.

She handled the first one decently, disarming him and knocking him down, however in her weakened state, Tigress could not take him out of the fight as quickly as she normally would have, so he soon jumped back up. The tiger would soon pay severely for her poorly-timed strikes and slower blocks. One wolf swung at her head with a wooden baton and due to her slow reaction, the weapon collided with the side of her head.

 _crack!_

"Aghhh!"

The force of the blow to her skull knocked her sideways, dazed but not out just yet. Po ran over towards her as quick as he could to try to save her. Before Tigress could stand back up straight, an adjacent wolf charged her throwing a strong, hard uppercut to her stomach where a particular wound was, causing her to growl loudly in pain. The bandit smirked seeing this and Tigress buckled bending over and as she did, a wolf struck the back of her right leg bringing her down to the ground.

 _Twack!_

The tiger howled in pain as this was the leg that was injured the most. "Noooooo!" Po shouted in worry before he became enraged. "Arghhhh!" he yelled leaping through the air with a flying side kick, slamming into the wolf that was about to hit her on the head to take her out.

The shear force of the kick drove the wolf into the ground, completely out of the fight. Two bandits then charged the panda from behind and he angrily turned around, punched one in the head and elbowed the other across the face hard, instantly putting them down. Tigress was rather impressed and in awe of the raw strength and power she had just witnessed from the panda bear.

Po then grit his teeth, "Those who hurt _my_ friends or the people I care about... _don't_ get away so easily." he said in sternly in a tone that surprised Tigress, who was on a knee trying to stand. She was however, touched by hearing this, seeing how much Po was willing to defend the ones he cared for.

Another bandit, who was now more timid after seeing this, tried to attack him from the rear, but the burly panda simply threw up his elbow horizontally and dropped him back - groaning in pain. Po sighed, releasing his rage and remembering Tigress, he turned around and a look of worry replacing the one of anger that was once on his face.

"Oh my gosh, Tigress - I'm so sorry I didn't come to save you sooner!" he said sorrowfully. "Are you alright?"

"It's okay - things happen ugh... P-po, behind you!" Tigress warned pointing to a bandit running up behind Po with a large hammer over his head.

Po reached for his staff, turned around and swung it horizontally across the wolf's stomach, causing him to instantly drop the hammer, and bend over in pain. The panda then twirled the staff and brought it down on top of the canine's head, knocking him down, but as he did, the staff shattered - breaking completely in half.

 _crack!_

Po gasped seeing his favorite bamboo staff break and a look of sadness came over his face. The staff was a gift to him from his adoptive father Mr. Ping after he became the Dragon Warrior and it crushed him to see it in two pieces on the ground. Tigress saw the depressed look on his face and knew his staff had much sentimental value to him.

"Oh... you broke your staff - I'm sorry." She said as gently as she could, putting a paw on his shoulder after seeing the look on his face. But the panda's expression didn't change.

"I will _personally_ make you a new one when we make it out of this mess, okay?"

Po finally sighed and managed to turn around to face her - he smiled a little bit and nodded, "Thanks, Ti. I would actually really like that - I know it will be awesome coming from you." he beamed.

The tiger smiled back but painfully as she tried to stand up, "Great then, now let's go - we don't have much tim-" Tigress said before her leg gave out due to the throbbing pain and she fell face towards the ground. Po, however, saw Tigress fall and as if by a reflex, he caught her before the tiger's face hit the dirt.

"Gotcha!" he said as he held up Tigress's shoulders so she could sit up.

"Uhh, thanks." she muttered quietly gritting her teeth while she tried to stand. Tigress's leg was shaking as it appeared that the pain in her leg intensified after that one bandit hit the back of it.

"Can you stand?"

The tiger shook her head while holding onto his arm for support, "Not sure - ah! We'll have to see..." the tiger warrior said as she finally made it back onto her feet, with Po's help of course.

Po looked at her worriedly seeing her in such agony but still trying to endure it. _"You're incredibly strong, Ti - I admire that. But you need rest too."_ he thought to himself, looking at her.

"It's too bad the staff broke - we're even more behind now."

Po timidly twiddled his fingers together, "Tigress... I have an idea that can really help at this point."

"What's that?"

His expression became more anxious and worried than before.

"Let me carry you, please Tigress!"

Tigress understood that he cared but this was still a strange suggestion. The female feline scoffed, folding her arms as one of her ears twitched, "Rediculous. Po, this is kind of strange for us to..."

He cut her off anxiously, "C'mon, I'll carry you on my back. That way you can let your injuries heal - you can barely stand anymore as it is!" Po pointed out sadly.

"I appreciate your concern, dragon warrior - I do but I can-"

It was as if the panda read her thoughts as he continued, "No, you can't keep going like this! I know this sounds a bit strange but hear me out." he begged and she could see the worry in his eyes, "I... just don't want to lose you out here, Ti." he whispered grievously, turning his head to the side as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Tigress gasped quietly when she saw that and her ears perked up a bit. She rarely saw him cry out of sorrow and it distressed her much to see it. As the two soon locked eyes, she found she couldn't say anything more to argue with the look in Po's eyes - a look of understanding and concern. After a few moments in thought, the tiger finally gave in, seeing that her injuries were slowing them down quite a bit and not to mention how much it worried Po that she might not make it

Tigress then sighed and looked at him, "And you won't - not anytime soon." she assured him before a small smile came across her face. "You have a point, dragon warrior and because I can see this truly worries you, and it would be nice to stay off my wounds for a while... you can carry me if you wish."

Po grinned, "Oh my gosh thank you - this is gonna be so awesome!" he said excitedly fist pumping the air while Tigress just shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Tigress then picked up their packs of supplies, "You're welcome. Now we don't have anymore time to lose - let's go quickly... before I change my mind at least." she smirked slightly at him.

Po, knowing what she was saying, instantly got down on a knee in front of the tiger exposing his back. Tigress, with their supplies on her back, then made her way towards the panda and climbed onto his back - resting her paws on his shoulders, and her legs on either side of his waist and Po held them for support. Surprisingly, the female managed to get comfortable and soon he stood up with the injured tiger on his back.

"This is actually... kind of... okay. Thanks." she smiled contently, adjusting herself a little while letting her striped, tail curl up behind her.

Po nodded returning her expression, and Tigress pointed in the direction they were following on the map and without hesitation, the panda took off at a swift speed down the road into the sunset. The two masters had no idea what lay ahead of them but at least they had each other and friendship. But little did they know, the fires had just began to intensify.

* * *

About five miles past Hefei, approaching Nanjing, the dark figure himself was leading a battalion of his army towards the capital city with the captured grandmaster himself: Shifu. The red panda was bound in chains and accupressure cuffs while being pulled in a caged cart by two of the figures bodyguards. The red panda was meditating when all of a sudden they seemed to be coming to a stop.

He rose up in his iron cage and saw the unknown figure and his bodyguards talking to one another in a foreign tongue that he couldn't quite understand. As Shifu looked to his left, he saw in a similar-sized caged cart, a young female leopard looking at him. The leopard had a black muzzle around her face to prevent her from speaking and she was looking directly at him, tapping something on the iron bars.

At first, Shifu was confused, but quickly realized she was trying to tell him something in some form of code. She hit thr shakle on the bar a few times, shakily and Shifu began to quickly write on the dusty floor of his cell with his finger.

As she tapped, he wrote, _"I - am - Su - there's - no - escap-"_ he wrote on the floor. Soon Shifu stopped when he saw from the corner of his eye, the robed figure turn around and growl slowly.

The cage was some twenty feet away, but after the figure's eyes glowed red - he ran that distance in less than a second, stopping just in front of the cage, glaring at him. Shifu jumped back startled, and he saw what looked like red lighting bolts, bordered with black, crackle and zoom around his head and body.

The grandmaster didn't scare easy but the sight before him was utterly terrifying. _"But... no one can move that fast! What is this?"_ he thought to himself before the figure turned to the side to look to the female snow leopard.

"Don't... talk to _him_ again." he said slowly in a dark tone. His voice was disguised by an unseen mask around his muzzle and it sounded deep, rough and unnerving.

The leopard simply shook her head in despair and crawled back into a corner of her cage just in case he would attack. The figure slowly turned his head back towards Shifu and his eyes flashed red. Suddenly, a crimson mist covered the cloaked figure as he began to step closer to the iron bars and then he phased through the bars - now standing on the inside. Shifu was utterly dumbfounded but more so unnerved. The mist vanished, then the red and black bolts reappeared around his entire body once more as he stepped closer to the defenseless grandmaster.

In a split second, the figure reached out with his demonic-like claws and grabbed Shifu by the throat - lifting him up with a single arm, before slamming him up against the top of the cell. He choked and groaned painfully as the figures eyes locked with his in an eerie manner. It was as if he looked into his very soul.

"The five _will_ escape; I'm _going_ to get out of here and the Dragon Warrior _will_ defeat you!" he stated, showing no fear however this provoked the figure to anger.

He growled loudly and tightened his grip around the red pandas throat. "Fool! The only thing I need from all of you masters is your power to conquer China! And you only need to be just _barely_ alive for me to use it." he stated in a slow, ominous manner through his mask.

"You'll never do it!" Shifu insisted but without warning the figure threw an uppercut at an unnaturally enhanced speed at his stomach.

Shifu grunted and then he continued at speeds that were like a blur and every hit was worse than the last. He next threw a hard right hook at Shifu's jaw, then doubled down to a punch and a knee to his stomach. Red lighting crackled around the figures arm and every hit began to burn Shifu a bit.

The figure threw a lightning-fast sharp elbow across his forehead before throwing an equally as fast right and left hook at Shifu's jaw - knocking him to the ground, groaning in pain. The red panda was now severely bruised and his left eye was now swollen shut. The unknown figure hit him with a ferocity and strength that surpassed that of Tai Lung's. As Shifu lay there in pain trying to stand, the figure said something.

"'Ahmaq, taerif makanik!" he said coldly in a foreign tongue that Shifu didn't quite recognize.

"Fool, know your place!" he repeated, translating his previous sentence and the unknown figure then turned around and phased through the bars once again.

The figure then said something in a foreign tongue to one of the bodyguards, who nodded silently before the battalion started moving again. Meanwhile, a look of hopelessness came over Shifu's face while he sat up against the iron bars of the cage. He couldn't quite figure out why the figure emitted that strange, red aura and his eyes, were unforgettable.

Every blow burned as it made contact and it wasn't like Chi at all. Shifu sat pondering what this could possibly mean but he came up empty. The female snow looked back at him with sympathy as they were being pulled along. Little did they know however, great evil was upon them, as a shadow was beginning to grow over all of China - a shadow with blood red eyes, whose heart was one without mercy.

 **Heyyyyy guys the chapter is done finally! I'm sorry it took me so long but I've been really busy at work and stuff like that. After I'm done at the end of the day I'm usually too tired or too lazy to do anything haha. I'm a welder at an industrial place so I work really hard and sweat a lot lol! Anyway I apologize if this ending sucked for some of you guys - it's just what I came up with. Also, thank you FFN for finally adding that horizontal line feature for us mobile users! Made me sooo happy!**

 **Also, I've recently been able to get in contact with hellokittyemolove who has written some very good Kung Fu Panda stories! She is among one of my favorite authors in this fandom and her stories - I will always love. I was given permission by her that if I wanted to I could continue some of her stories! Soooo that's what I'm going to do! I loved her story the power of love and I'm going to try to continue it in the coming year after I finish this one. So look out for that story!**

 **I can imagine Tobin Bell would have done pretty well with the villains lines and I know you guys are tired of hearing me refer to the villain as the "figure" but just hang in there his identity will be revealed in due time.**

 **I do appreciate the reviews and follows keep them coming! The Five and Shifu are in some serious trouble; will they make it out alive or will this be the end for our heroes? Stay tuned and find out!**

 **\- Tipo-fan-4-life**


	10. Broken

**Hey y'all here's chapter ten! I do hope you are enjoying this story so far** **\- so many things are going down.** **I know I've said this a lot but I have so many ideas for this story. And I do apologize for the not so frequent updates I've just been really busy with work and other things but I want to finish the story because I already have a sequel in mind. Anyway it** **appears this mysterious villian has become even more mysterious given that he has acquired an unnatural enhanced speed that defies the laws of nature.** **What could this be? Furthermore, what could this strange, glowing red Chi mean? Keep following to find out! We have already seen what's become of the Masters but what of the others?** **Much is yet to be revealed so stay tuned for the rest!**

* * *

Meanwhile, between Huangshi and Wuhu, the Master's Monkey and Crane were being dragged down the road in their chains by the dark bodyguards. At this point, Monkey could no longer speak due to his broken jaw that now hung open and their hope for escape seemed to be futile. The assassins could not be beaten in their current state, for bodyguards' Kung Fu seemed to surpass their own. It seemed to be a foreign and more aggressive combat style than they had ever faced before.

As the two master's were walking down the road, Monkey was forming yet another escape plan in his mind. He had two hindrances, however before he could put his plans into place - two of those being his dislocated shoulder, and recently broken jaw. Monkey gave Crane a hard, knowing look while waiting for just the right moment, as they made their way between the rocky ledges that bordered the road.

Crane shook his head, "No, not again Monkey! You're even more injured than before - don't you remember what happened last time!?" the avian whispered cautiously but Monkey simply held up a finger as if to say 'trust me.'

Crane groaned and shook his head before Monkey spotted a certain section of the rocky wall to use to reset his shoulder while the bodyguards stopped to discuss a matter. After making sure he wasn't noticed, Monkey then charged at the wall sideways, and slammed his right shoulder into it, snapping it back into socket.

 _snap!_

The primate audibly groaned in pain, but also in relief. When Crane noticed that the bodyguards didn't see Monkey, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a look.

"Why did you do that for - you could have been caught!"

Monkey simply pointed to his shoulder and then focused his attention to his jaw. The primate then proceeded to bend over and using one of the pins of the accupressure cuffs, he began to tear at a section of his pant leg. Crane watched as he then tore off a strip with his finger tips and attempt to loop it around the top of his skull. The avian saw what he was trying to do and assisted using his good wing to loop it around the top of his head and jaw - closing it shut.

After Crane tied a knot at the top of Monkey's head with the fabric, he occasionally took glances at the bodyguards some distance ahead of them. When he saw they were still talking to each other Crane sighed in relief and looked back at Monkey.

"That's done. Now, what exactly is your plan of escape this time? The accupressure cuffs are nearly impossible to break out of." Crane added quietly as they stood there.

Monkey simply held up his cuffs, motioning towards the rocky wall. The Avian shook his head.

"No, they'll hear you! Besides, the pins would puncture your wrist and get tighter the more you struggle." he cautioned but Monkey wasn't listening.

He was about the slam the side of the cuff into the wall when he felt something jerk his chains. It was one of the dark bodyguards and the two master's froze.

"linadhhab." He said in the Arabic tongue. "Time to move, fools - the Master has great plans for all of you." the assassin deadpanned in a sinister voice from behind his silver mask.

 _"Yeah, we'll see..."_ Monkey thought to himself in his head as they began to move once more.

As the Master's walked along the dirt path and rock walls, Monkey kept his eyes on the bodyguards ahead of them, while secretly giving Crane a few hard looks. The bird nodded and after Monkey waited for just the right moment, he ran over to the rocky wall and hit the side of it with his cuffs.

 _clang!_

At first they didn't break off his wrists but unfortunately, the black bodyguards not only felt the chain move but heard the clang of the metal against the stone. One of them stopped and turned around and Monkey knew he had been caught. A chill then ran down their spines as terror began to come over them. Just then, one of the bodyguards black eyes then flashed red briefly, before silently motioning for the others to attack the Master's.

The three assassins then drew their black-steel sabers, twirling them in a menacing manner before they ran towards Crane and Monkey to subdue them. Monkey began to panic internally at their predicament but before the deadly warriors could reach them, he began to hit his cuffs against the wall harder than before. At this point, his wrists were now bleeding, but merely seconds before one of the warriors could swing at Monkey, he hit the cuffs against the wall one last time with all of his strength. At last, the cuff fell from his wrists leaving only the chains.

 _clang!_

Now halfway free, Monkey was ready to put his plan into action.

"You actually did it." Crane remarked doing his best to avoid the razor sharp sabers. "But how are we going to stop these guys - they gave us trouble before."

The primate gave Crane a mischievous look that read, _"Watch and see"_ as the dark warrior in front of him thrusted his blade towards Monkey's face. Crane shook his head at him in disbelief but followed his moves.

Monkey shrieked in his head as he just barely ducked under the blade as the assassin twirled and slashed in a swift manner at the them. The three bodyguards wielded their swords with only a single hand while the other rested behind their back, showing their effortless skill of the sword. The fight was beginning to grow more difficult with the aggressive guerrillas and Monkey knew he had to act fast for they couldn't dodge their attacks for much longer in their current state.

The primate waited for just the right moment and soon it came. As one of the dark warriors swung their saber towards Monkey, an iron ore imbedded in the rocky wall next to them, took the sword out of his paw, magnetizing it to the stone. When he went to retrieve it, Monkey then quickly took his chance. The primate grabbed the long chain that their jailers once held them by and yanked it back towards himself and in doing so the end of the chain struck one of Monkey's opponents in the back of the head. The soulless warrior audibly groaned as he fell towards the ground - down but not out just yet. Crane immediately caught onto his plan after seeing the results and immediately pulled back the chain with his good wing.

"Fight all you want, but you will come with us walking or crippled!" The leader said through his silver mask as he tried to stand to his feet while the others banded next to him.

"We'll see about that - Ka-kaw!" Crane exclaimed.

With a hard flick of his wrist, he whipped his chain towards the leader and wrapped it around his throat, before proceeding to jerk the chain back, choking and driving him into the ground, out of the fight. The next guerrilla went to swing his saber at Monkey but using his chain, he intercepted the weapon and yanked it away, effectively disarming him. He quickly whipped the chain across the assassins head and knocked him to the ground.

Blood began to run out from the slits in his silver mask, indicating a concussion, but he wasn't done yet as he tried to stand up once more. Monkey then quickly lashed the chain out once more, and in doing so, it wrapped around the assassins leg and yanked him backwards, causing him to fall on a rock behind him. As the fallen assassin hit the rock, he landed on his head, killing him instantly.

"Good work, Monkey but uh... little help would be nice, if it's not too much!" he exclaimed frantically, trying to fight off the black robed warrior in his weakened state.

The avian managed to kick him back a ways, so now only one last warrior remained and he stood across from Crane with both sabers in paw, ready to strike. Monkey and Crane looked at each other for a moment before they nodded and soon the last warrior finally fell. When he was defeated, Monkey wrapped the chain around his neck and jerked him up to his knees to question him but now blood was beginning to come from the slits in his mask due to a concussion.

"There's no hope for you. Now tell us - who are you people and where are the others!?" Crane questioned the assassin on Monkey's behalf, for he still could not speak.

He just glared at them with black, soulless eyes from behind the silver mask. "On the contrary, Sadiq, there is no hope for you! As for them, I will not talk." he answered coldly his very voice giving them the creeps.

"Oh, we can be quite persuasive..."

Before Crane could react or interrogate him further, the assassin drew a spare dagger from behind his back and spun it around in his paw so it was facing himself. They wanted to stop him in order to receive valuable information but soon he spoke.

"La takhafu , li'ana almawt yati lana jmyeana." He stated ominously in a foreign tongue before driving the blade into his chest and slumping over dead.

The two master's seemed discouraged that they couldn't extract the information out of the assassin like they had planned, but they were relieved that they were free at last. Crane, wanting to get some answers, walked over to the deceased warrior, and removed the silver mask and wrapping from his face, revealing an all-black leopard with no spots. He went over to the others and did the same, revealing one white leopard with black spots and a light grey leopard with silver ones.

The avian looked at them in awe, trying to collect his thoughts as the two masters were trying piece this together. The Arabian Leopards looked unfamiliar to them but certainly raised an alarm inside their heads.

"I... don't understand. What is going on- are we going to be raided by the Mongols?" Crane inquired quietly and Monkey shrugged sharing the same look of gloom on his face.

"Let's go to the nearest village and see if Po or Tigress will follow our trail I left behind." Crane stated plucking out one of his feathers once more. "If they're even still alive that is..."

Monkey silently nodded, agreeing with him, for he couldn't argue since he could no longer speak due to his jaw. The two Masters then set out on their way to find a village, leaving the corpses and chains of their jailers as they walked across the abandoned road. Soon, they came over a rocky hill as the sun was setting and the two saw beneath it, a medium-sized village that was densely populated.

Monkey and Crane then smiled at one another before they began to enter it. The Masters had no idea what was ahead of them, having barely escaped an aggressive and elite sect of warriors; now their only hope was to find the others. Only in finding the others, the Five be strong again, but for now they remained... broken.

 **Aaand it's finally done!! A short chapter but hope you guys enjoyed this; I apologize for making y'all wait so long. I have just been busy with work and sleep while trying to work on the story in the mean time. Don't unfollow yet to those of you who have kept following - I have all my ideas in mind for this story thanks to my step mum. I will try to correct any grammar mistakes I find to improve readability.**

 **Anyway, the Five, being separated, has made them weaker naturally, but will they overcome these obstacles? Keep reading to see! These elites were not easy to defeat and if it wasn't for Monkey's wits, who knows what would have become of our heroes. Thank you all for reading and reviewing - it excites me everytime I see your feedback because it helps me improve and it creates a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart :)**

 **Until next time,**

 **\- Tipo-fan-4-life**


	11. Tigress's Lost Days (Prt1)

**Hello everyone, welcome to the next chapter! A lot has been going on right now with me but I'm still trying to make time to write these chapters for y'all With that being said, our heroes are in for some hard times it seems, and with the mysterious villian always two steps ahead, who knows what the outcome will be... The villians' identity is sooo close to being revealed and things are going to heat up fast. I do apologize for making you guys wait so long until the reveal but everything has it's place So many obstacles and so little time so without further a due, the rest of the story.**

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 _Chapter 11: Tigress's lost days prt1_

It was nearly dusk as the two master's Po and Tigress, were walking down the dirt road towards Nanchang, engaging in their conversations, and checking the map in front of them. The air was cool and crisp, and it could be felt through their fur as a gentle breeze swirled around the two masters. Po was still carrying the tiger on his back so that her injuries could heal, and she greatly appreciated this. Meanwhile, they were searching for more food in addition to the small stock they already had which consisted of fish, walnuts, and wild, sweet berries in a small basket Tigress had constructed earlier using bamboo branches.

"I think we should stop soon - it's getting pretty late." Po commented to the female tiger on his back.

"Yeah, it is. Let's make camp over there, Po." Tigress said casually, pointing over his shoulder to a rather tall tree with large branches, that seemed to form a roof from the elements. This spot seemed perfect as it provided them with some cover for it was surrounded by various plantation.

Po nodded in agreement with his usual smile and walked over to it, some twenty feet off from the main dusty road. At this point, the tiger was feeling quite drowsy from the ride, and almost fell asleep a few times on the panda's back, for he was much more... comfortable than she had anticipated. This surprised her, but Po was a large panda after all, and she was grateful he would do this nevertheless. Po approached the trees trunk and knelt down in front of it, allowing the tiger to climb off his back. She did so, and Tigress placed her paw on the tree trunk to steady herself, while Po laid their packs down near a large rock.

"Thanks for carrying me this far, Po." she smiled. "It certainly did help my wounds." she stated as some of the soreness had gone away since she been off her feet for some time now.

"Anytime, Ti!" he clapped returning her gentle smile with his usual, goofy grin. "I'm just making sure you stay off your wounds for as long as possible." he said before his tone changed.

"You really scared the daylights out of me back there when I saw you go down. I... I thought I would lose you." Po said, with despair and pain in his voice that Tigress could hear. This however, was rather heartwarming to hear how much her friend was concerned about her well being.

 _"He really does worry a lot for me..."_ The tiger thought to herself in her head as she pulled out the chess board for the two to play a few rounds and keep their minds sharp.

The tiger smiled sadly at the panda and sighed, releasing some air from her lungs, "But you _didn't_ and won't either. I'm tougher than you think." she smirked playfully, punching his arm in an attempt to cheer him up.

It worked, as an audible groan of pain was heard from the panda and then he smiled at her. Po nodded and began to gather some wood he discovered laying on the dusty ground to build a fire. Before too long, a fire was soon roaring and crackling in front of the two master's and then began to roast some left over fish over it. While their supper cooked over the toasty, warm fire, the panda opened up their packs and removed their blankets as the sun was almost set over the horizon.

After handing Tigress a blanket, to which she nodded in thanks, Po sat down across from her with his feet together, near the game board with his blanket wrapped snuggly around his shoulders, ready to play. Crickets could be heard chirping around them as night time was drawing closer by the second and the crackling fire seemed to be their only source of light.

"You ready to lose again?" The female tiger teased, while setting up her various black game pieces, and Po his white ones.

"Not a chance, Ti!" He shot back dramatically as they both got ready to start their game. "Prepare to lose because I have plan this time."

Tigress just rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure you do." she said chuckling with a knowing smile before she moved her first pawn.

"Oh, you shall see." The panda added as the two began to play their game, carefully reading each other's moves, while in the mean time, checking on their fish that was roasting over the fire.

After a few minutes, the two paused to check on the fish and after flipping the fish over so the other side could cook evenly, the Master's returned to their game. Not too long into the game however, Tigress had taken most of Po's pieces and likewise he had taken some of hers. This time, he had more than the last time they had played.

"Well done, Dragon warrior." The female tiger said slyly before taking the panda's last knight, to which he groaned. "But you're still moving your pieces too fast, Po."

"Aw, man!" he exclaimed. "Is that it!?"

"That, and you're not taking the time to _think_ before you move your piece."

The giant panda nodded, agreeing to her advice and took a mental note to put it into practice when it was his turn once more, considering he mindlessly moved his rook straight out into the open of the game board. The tiger saw her opportunity, and after reading all the possible outcomes, took his rook and the last of his pawns with her knight.

"Dang it!" he exclaimed, slumping some, knowing she was getting closer to check-mate.

"Nice try, Dragon Warrior." she said with amusement in her voice. "Next time try to think a _little_ harder."

"But... that seems hard."

"I've noticed." The tiger teased to which the panda slumped, before she stopping to check on the fish that was over the fire. "Wait, I think the fish is done - we'll resume this later."

Po nodded and put the pieces and game board away while Tigress reached over to check on one of the sizzling cuts of meat. After close inspection, pulling some of the meat apart to see if it was well cooked, Tigress removed the steaming, hot fish from the fire, and handed her panda friend one. The smell was mouthwatering to the two hungry Masters and now a thin steam arose from the freshly-cooked meat. A few minutes later, the tender meat was now cool enough for a bite and the two Masters began to eat the water creature, hungrily.

"Oh, man this is so good!" The panda said taking another juicy bite.

"Mhmm."

Afterwards, when they ate to their filling, the duo decided it was time to get some sleep before the long, continuing journey the next day. However, Po decided before the two would sleep that he would check on his tiger friend's injuries to see if they were healing any better than before. After agreeing to Po's suggestion to check her wounds, Tigress sat down in front of him, undone the wraps from her right ankle and rolled up her black, silk pant leg to let him inspect her laceration on her thigh. Tigress wished to keep this to herself for her own privacy but she understood it was necessary to keep an eye on this.

The area surrounding the wound was bruised lightly, discolored from the blow from earlier, but on the bright side, it seemed to be healing as a scab was visable beneath her orange fur.

"It's healing a bit, but you're bruised, Tigress. Try not to put too much pressure on it."

She nodded, "I'll try not to. But I've been through worse than this - I can keep going." the tiger stated knowingly as she began to roll her pant leg back down and re-wrap it at the base of her ankle.

Po nodded knowing how tough the tiger was and that she rather disliked being treated as some "damsel in distress." After letting the crackling fire die down in order to keep their location secret from bandits, the two Masters then prepared their sleeping mats next to the fire, which was now a cluster of glowing coals. Po and Tigress then said their usual good night's before laying down under their blankets, and closing eyes for some much needed sleep.

Several minutes later, Unbeknownst to them however, a group of wolves armed with clubs and sabers, watched the two with interest from the shadows - lustful and preying eyes swarmed over the Masters, particularly over Master Tigress. One of them quietly gave a signal, and the other wolves began to advance towards their camp. The Masters were sleeping peacefully when the tiger heard a twig snap, breaking her from her slumber. Her glowing amber eyes flickered open slightly, and her ear twitched, hearing movement coming towards them. Sitting up, she turned to her side to wake the sleeping panda shaking him some with her paw.

"Po...PO! Wake up. I think we're being ambushed!" The female warrior whisper shouted and Po groggily opened his Jade orbs.

"What? Ugh again!?" he whispered back sitting up too.

Before the Masters could react, two of the wolves swung their clubs, striking simultaneously across the back of their heads, knocking them to the ground, dazed.

 _crack!_

"Ughhh... Tigress?" Po groaned reaching for his tiger friend as his vision began to grow blurry due to the blow. The pandas' ears began to ring as well while everything was starting to fade.

"Po..." she whispered feintly, her sight of him fading by the second.

The Panda briefly saw her pass out before he too lost consciousness as another blow from a club struck him over the head.

 _Thunk!_

With the two Master's now out cold, the unpleasant band of devious wolves could now do as they pleased to their new prisoners.

"We have them at last!" One of the tall canines exclaimed with a twisted grin, eyeing Master Tigress up and down

"What do we do now?" A tall, grey wolf asked their apparent leader, who was wearing a black helmet and some armor over their chest.

"You'll see." Remarked the leader before they proceeded to drag the two warriors away.

However, as they were doing so, the hunch-backed wolves appeared to be struggling to drag the giant panda through the dirt with his weight appeared to be slowing them down. The leader observed this, and stopped in his tracks, motioning for the others to just leave the panda in the dirt and take only Master Tigress. They agreed and proceeded to carry the unconscious tiger away into a rock and bolder scattered mountain - miles away from her panda friend.

Meanwhile, Po was laying unconscious on the windswept ground, and he soon began to enter a dream.

* * *

 _Dreamscape_

 _A dark void spat forth and surrounded the panda style master with flashes of lightning being his only source of light until he recognized where he was. A look of fear and anxiety washed over his face as he realized he was in the old panda village which was destroyed by Shen over 20 years prior. He looked around at the charred remains in silence until he saw a figure approach him from the shadows._

 _"Hello, Dragon Warrior." A smooth, velvety voice greeted as a flash of light revealed the figure to be the old Soothsayer from Gongmen._

 _Po gasped slightly but was relieved to see a familiar face. "Soothsayer? What's going on - what's happening right now?" The panda asked anxiously as his environment was quite unsettling._

 _The old goat feebly walked towards Po with her cane ever so gently. "You're in a dream - you're in a great deal of trouble so I decided to speak with you and warn you_ _.."_

 _"Warn me?" The panda questioned as the goat walked around him a few times, as if inspecting him while light illuminated their surroundings._ _"Can you tell me why all of this is happening? I-I don't even know where my friends are because of this guy..." Po stated with despair in his tone while the soothsayer prepared a few items in a bowl._

" _You are in what is called a Crucible in which you will be tested greatly, but the foe you're up against... is unlike any you've ever faced before._ " _The soothsayer stated gravely before the giant panda spoke up after a few moments of eerie silence._

 _"Oh... so do you know who he is?" Po asked in fear of whom it might be, given that he is connected to Shen. "Like... have you seen his face?_

 _The old goat nodded while leaning on her cane. "Would you like to? It's time you learned."_ _The soothsayer then set fire to the contents of the bowl and a cloud of smoke arose._

 _Inside the cloud of smoke, the panda saw the dark, cloaked figure with glowing, red eyes standing in what appeared to be a cave. Po watched carefully as the figure threw down a helpless leopard, which he held by the throat, before lifting his hood back from his head, revealing the creature to be a dark-scaled Komodo Dragon. He appeared young, strong and much hatred laid behind those red orbs of his but mostly pain.The reptile walked towards the terrified leopard slowly, and with a slight limp in his steps. The leopard, practically shaking with fear, was trying to back away but it was no use - a wall stopped him. The Komodo dragon unsheathed his claws, and Po looked away._

 _"His name is Jian and he is more dangerous than any threat you've ever faced, Po... or that China has faced." The soothsayer spoke up as the giant warrior was at a loss for words but he was beginning to understand._

 _"I see... but how was he connected to Shen?" Po asked, trying to process all of this information._

 _"Jian was Shen's Mercenary." Soothsayer replied in a way that sent a cold chill down Po's spine causing him to remember the genocide._

 _A look of shock but mostly horror came over the pandas face, "Please tell me the story... I-I need to know." Po inquired quietly, desiring to know if this Jian had anything to do with his mother._

A smile formed on the soothsayers face as their surroundings changed with a flash of lightning. "Very well but... are you prepared to hear what I will say?" The old goat asked as they were now standing in the region of Tibet.

"I'm ready."

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 **Well this chapter is long over due but here it is! I do apologise for that, I've been going through a lot recently. Anyway I'm trying to include darker elements and keep everyone in character, since I was informed I wasn't doing so. Also I was told that Tigress would not be struggling like she is, but everyone has their limit and no one is invincible. The wounds were meant to slow her down, but now with the identity of the villian being revealed, more pressing matters are at hand. What are his plans and why does he seem to always be two steps ahead of our heroes? Find out in the next chapter with more of his story to come! Hope you enjoyed this update - see you in the next one!**

 **\- Tipo-fan-4-life**


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